The only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our… — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
Not explicitly, no. Compared to this enormous, relentless evolutionary activity in the built environment, writing is small potatoes. — Teju Cole Copy Share Image
I've been reading Tanith Lee since I was a teenager, beginning with 'The Birthgrave' and 'The Storm Lord.' Only recently did I… — Neal Asher Copy Share Image
I believe Jack Smith might have written THE BOOK on writing and revising for publication. Clean, direct, succinct--a book that is full… — Virgil Suarez Copy Share Image
One writer, for instance, excels at a plan or a title page, another works away at the body of the book, and… — Oliver Goldsmith Copy Share Image
I do a nice sloppy first draft like everybody else. And then just work at it and work at it and groom… — Diablo Cody Copy Share Image
“Contemporary literature can be classified under three headings: the neurotic, the erotic and the tommy-rotic.” — W. Giese Copy Share Image
If I could have married my wife and been a sports writer for the past 30 years, I wouldn't be sitting here… — Richard Ford Copy Share Image
It's coming home for me as a writer, which means that, with my friends, I'd have to be able to write through… — Torrey Peters Copy Share Image
Most writers write too much. I have the exact opposite problem. I feel I could write almost anything in a paragraph. I… — Fran Lebowitz Copy Share Image
“I think it's because when you hold a book you're also holding a tree in one form or another, and that direct… — Ali Smith Copy Share Image
At first glance, the story of the Lusitania doesn't seem like the sort of thing I would take on. I usually like… — Erik Larson Copy Share Image
Reading has always been life unwrapped to me, a way of understanding the world and understanding myself through both the unknown and… — Anna Quindlen Copy Share Image
Much of an editor's job is in fact pretty nanny-like in nature: in many ways, you're there to protect and defend, to… — Hanya Yanagihara Copy Share Image
“I, however, who in this transitory life am nothing, can enjoy the thought of the future reading this very page, since I… — Fernando Pessoa Copy Share Image
I first read Wendell Berry's short-story collections, "Fidelity" and then "Watch with Me." They just knocked my socks off. The characters and… — Nick Offerman Copy Share Image
I love 'The Guardian' series. Bianca St. Ives is one of my favorite heroines ever, and the combination of action, suspense, and… — Karen Robards Copy Share Image
A secretary is not a thing Wound by key, pulled by string. Her pad is to write in, And not spend the… — Frank Loesser Copy Share Image
For the general practitioner a well-used library is one of the few correctives of the premature senility which is so apt to… — William Osler Copy Share Image
Libraries offer, for free, the wisdom of the ages--and sages--and, simply put, there's something for everyone inside. — Laura Bush Copy Share Image
The element of surprise is the most important thing and what keeps me interested in writing. I can feel it if I've… — Phoebe Waller-Bridge Copy Share Image
I wrote 'Knots and Crosses,' the first of the Rebus books, not even realising that I was writing crime fiction. — Ian Rankin Copy Share Image
That's typically what writers do; we just sit around complaining most of the time. And the better things are going, the more… — Markus Zusak Copy Share Image
“Academic library collections are designed to support critical thinking, skepticism about the known, and curiosity about the unknown.” — Wayne Bivens-Tatum Copy Share Image
“A good editor is like a pair of Spanx: firming up the body, making the subject look good, and absolutely invisible.” — Sandi Layne Copy Share Image
During really difficult times in my life when I start questioning why I am struggling with something, I often turn to books… — Halle Berry Copy Share Image
As the child approaches a new text he is entitled to an introduction so that when he reads, the gist of the...… — Marie Clay Copy Share Image
“The rest, with very little exaggeration, was books. Meant-to-be-picked-up books. Permanently-left-behind books. Uncertain-what-to-do-with books. But books, books. Tall cases lined three walls… — J.D. Salinger Copy Share Image
“Once he'd asked, "Don't you want to read? There are hundreds of books in the sitting room." She had laughed and said,… — Sarah Addison Allen Copy Share Image
“Writing requires a prolong period of academic education supplemented by studiously scrutinizing society and its customs. Writers also analyze their own nature… — Kilroy J. Oldster Copy Share Image
You must overcome any shyness and have a conversation with the librarian, because he can offer you reliable advice that will save… — Umberto Eco Copy Share Image
I think that as a writer your responsibility is to search for and stir up the things that are in this world.… — Markus Zusak Copy Share Image
One must always be careful of books,' said Tessa, 'and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.'… — Cassandra Clare Copy Share Image
Lionel Essrog, the twitching, barking, gabbling narrator of Jonathan Lethem's new novel, 'Motherless Brooklyn,' is no movie-of-the-week novelty grafted onto a noir… — Gary Krist Copy Share Image
My advice is this. For Christ's sake, don't write a book that is suitable for a kid of 12 years old, because… — Terry Pratchett Copy Share Image
I think solitude is a really positive thing. I cherish solitude immensely. In today’s society, there’s so much pressure to communicate, eat… — Nicky Wire Copy Share Image
I don't read my books, I write them. Once I've finished the many years it usually takes me to write them, I… — Salman Rushdie Copy Share Image
“I know how you feel because I’ve been there too. I’ve hated and I’ve loved. I’ve seen my demons root and crawl… — robert m drake Copy Share Image
With writing, you really have to have faith. You have to have some sort of confidence that if you keep at it,… — Scott Spencer Copy Share Image
“As she starts to speak, my mind is suddenly filled with every hot-teacher fantasy I’ve ever had. They’re playing out in my… — Emma Chase Copy Share Image
