“
I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time)
“
Do you hate people?”
“I don't hate them...I just feel better when they're not around.
”
”
Charles Bukowski (Barfly)
“
Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.
”
”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
“
Well, don't expect us to be too impressed. We just saw Finnick Odair in his underwear.
”
”
Suzanne Collins (Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3))
“
Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I'm not going to make it, but you laugh inside — remembering all the times you've felt that way.
”
”
Charles Bukowski
“
I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.
”
”
Ray Bradbury (Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You)
“
For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1))
“
The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.
”
”
Marjorie Pay Hinckley
“
I came from a real tough neighborhood. Once a guy pulled a knife on me. I knew he wasn't a professional, the knife had butter on it.
”
”
Rodney Dangerfield
“
A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.
”
”
Irina Dunn
“
The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1))
“
Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the United States. Ask any Indian.
”
”
Robert Orben
“
Crying is for plain women. Pretty women go shopping.
”
”
Oscar Wilde
“
When I was your age, television was called books.
”
”
William Goldman (The Princess Bride)
“
If you're too open-minded; your brains will fall out.
”
”
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
“
It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.
”
”
Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol)
“
If someone were to harm my family or a friend or somebody I love, I would eat them. I might end up in jail for 500 years, but I would eat them.
”
”
Johnny Depp
“
Headline?" he asked.
"'Swing Set Needs Home,'" I said.
"'Desperately Lonely Swing Set Needs Loving Home,'" he said.
"'Lonely, Vaguely Pedophilic Swing Set Seeks the Butts of Children,'" I said.
”
”
John Green (The Fault in Our Stars)
“
The human body is the best work of art.
”
”
Jess C. Scott
“
Finnick?" I say, "Maybe some pants?"
He looks down at his legs as if noticing his outfit for the first time. Then he whips off his hospital gown leaving him in just his underwear. "Why? Do you find this" -- he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose -- "distracting?"
I laugh. Boggs looks embarrassed and Finnick looks more like the guy I met at the Quarter Quell
”
”
Suzanne Collins (Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3))
“
So you're a Shadowhunter,' Nate said. 'De Quincey told me that you lot were monsters.'
'Was that before or after he tried to eat you?' Will inquired.
”
”
Cassandra Clare (Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1))
“
What a kid I got, I told him about the birds and the bees and he told me about the butcher and my wife.
”
”
Rodney Dangerfield
“
The heaviness of loss in her heart hadn't eased, but there was room there for humour, too.
”
”
Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring)
“
To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable.
”
”
Oscar Wilde
“
Like water leaking through a dam," said Piper.
"Yeah," smiled Percy. "We've got a dam hole."
"What?" Piper asked.
"Nothing," he said. "Inside joke.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
“
I'm tired of this back-slappin' "isn't humanity neat" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes.
”
”
Bill Hicks
“
Life would be tragic if it weren't funny.
”
”
Stephen Hawking
“
It would seem that you have no useful skill or talent whatsoever," he said. "Have you thought of going into teaching?
”
”
Terry Pratchett (Mort (Discworld, #4; Death, #1))
“
Hello, Harry" said George, beaming at him. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."
"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out," said Fred, also beaming. "There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you.
”
”
J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5))
“
It is only a novel... or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language
”
”
Jane Austen (Northanger Abbey)
“
On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.
”
”
George Orwell (All Art is Propaganda: Critical Essays)
“
Those sweet lips. My, oh my, I could kiss those lips all night long.
Good things come to those who wait.
”
”
Jess C. Scott (The Intern)
“
Once I pulled a job, I was so stupid. I picked a guy's pocket on an airplane and made a run for it.
”
”
Rodney Dangerfield
“
I imagine hell like this: Italian punctuality, German humour and English wine.
”
”
Peter Ustinov
“
When you're drowning you don't think, I would be incredibly pleased if someone would notice I'm drowning and come and rescue me. You just scream.
”
”
John Lennon
“
Short cuts make long delays.
”
”
J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1))
“
If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards!
”
”
Terry Pratchett (The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1; Rincewind, #1))
“
No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it
”
”
Fernando Pessoa
“
Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.
”
”
Elbert Hubbard
“
Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that's where it should stay.
”
”
Christopher Hitchens
“
FEAR stands for fuck everything and run.
”
”
Stephen King (Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2))
“
I can't decide whether I'm a good girl wrapped up in a bad girl, or if I'm a bad girl wrapped up in a good girl. And that's how I know I'm a woman!
”
”
C. JoyBell C.
“
the only way Bex would miss this would be if she were unconscious. And tied up. And in a concrete bunker. In Siberia.
”
”
Ally Carter (Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover (Gallagher Girls, #3))
“
A fit, healthy body—that is the best fashion statement
”
”
Jess C. Scott
“
Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Heres Tom with the Weather.
”
”
Bill Hicks
“
I'm a poet, and I like my lies the way my mother used to make them.
”
”
Aleister Crowley (Moonchild)
“
If it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.
”
”
George Carlin (Napalm & Silly Putty)
“
There's a time and place for everything, and I believe it’s called 'fan fiction'.
”
”
Joss Whedon
“
I came from a real tough neighborhood. Why, every time I shut the window I hurt somebody's fingers.
”
”
Rodney Dangerfield
“
It struck me as pretty ridiculous to be called Mr. Darcy and to stand on your own looking snooty at a party. It's like being called Heathcliff and insisting on spending the entire evening in the garden, shouting "Cathy" and banging your head against a tree.
”
”
Helen Fielding (Bridget Jones’s Diary (Bridget Jones, #1))
“
Never knock on death's door. Ring the doorbell then run. He totally hates that.
- T-shirt
”
”
Darynda Jones (First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1))
“
I felt like an animal, and animals don’t know sin, do they?
”
”
Jess C. Scott (Wicked Lovely)
“
The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.
”
”
Oscar Wilde (The Artist as Critic: Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde)
“
We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1))
“
Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.
”
”
Joss Whedon
“
We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time)
“
There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it.
”
”
Mindy Kaling (Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns))
“
Shouldn't someone give a pep talk or something?" Minho asked, pulling Thomas's attention away from Alby.
"Go ahead," Newt replied.
Minho nodded and faced the crowd. "Be careful," he said dryly. "Don't die.
”
”
James Dashner (The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1))
“
Fifty percent of all doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class - Hope your surgery went well!
”
”
Simone Elkeles (Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry, #2))
“
my heart has more rooms in it than a whore house
”
”
Gabriel García Márquez
“
I don't deserve a soul, yet I still have one. I know because it hurts.
”
”
Douglas Coupland (The Gum Thief)
“
You're not very nice," I say, grinning.
"You're one to talk."
"Hey, I could be nice if I tried."
"Hmm." He taps his chin. "Say something nice, then."
"You're very good-looking."
He smiles, his teeth a flash in this dark. "I like this 'nice' thing.
”
”
Veronica Roth (Allegiant (Divergent, #3))
“
Ethan Wyeth: I hope you're thirsty."
Gideon Wyeth:"Why?"
Ethan: "Cause your dumb and ugly, but I can do something about thirsty.
”
”
Orson Scott Card
“
Today as always, men fall into two groups: slaves and free men. Whoever does not have two-thirds of his day for himself, is a slave, whatever he may be: a statesman, a businessman, an official, or a scholar.
”
”
Friedrich Nietzsche
“
Buying loyalty can be as effective as fear when one’s rival is poorer than oneself.
”
”
K. Ritz (Sheever's Journal, Diary of a Poison Master)
“
If one does not react to gossip, the informer hushes more quickly.
”
”
K. Ritz (Sheever's Journal, Diary of a Poison Master)
“
When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to hear '27 months.' 'He's two' will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't really care in the first place.
”
”
George Carlin
“
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn.
”
”
Joss Whedon
“
What if we promoted, like, Adidas shoes?’ Percy wondered. ‘Would that make Nike mad enough to show up?" Leo smiled nervously. Maybe he and Percy did share something else – a stupid sense of humour. "Yeah, I bet that would totally be against her sponsorship deal. THOSE ARE NOT THE OFFICIAL SHOES OF THE OLYMPICS! YOU WILL DIE NOW!
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
While the Clave disapproves of trespassers, oddly they take an even darker view of beheading and skinning people. They're peculiar that way.
”
”
Cassandra Clare (Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1))
“
What was up with class today? It was watered-down porn. He practically had you and Patch on top of your lab table, horizontal, minus your clothes, doing the Big Deed.
”
”
Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1))
“
No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away...
”
”
Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man (Discworld, #11; Death, #2))
“
Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.
”
”
Bertrand Russell (New Hopes for a Changing World)
“
When in doubt, ignore and be horribly unimpressed
”
”
Laurell K. Hamilton
“
I remember Peyton [Manning] called me as soon as I got out to Denver. He started the conversation by asking me, ‘When did you get in?’ We mainly just talked to get familiar with each other.
”
”
Vernon Davis (Playing Ball: Life Lessons from My Journey to the Super Bowl and Beyond)
“
Failed relationships can be described as so much wasted make-up.
”
”
Marian Keyes (Watermelon (Walsh Family, #1))
“
This is a team of gay dudes, isn't it?"
What gave it away? The pink shirts, or half our team drooling over you?
”
”
Simone Elkeles (Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry, #2))
“
Hey. Sometimes life is a shit flavored Popsicle.
”
”
Carl Hiaasen (Nature Girl)
“
Darling, when things go wrong in life, you lift your chin, put on a ravishing smile, mix yourself a little cocktail...
”
”
Sophie Kinsella
“
Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
”
”
Niels Bohr
“
Thorne scoffed. “Careful is my middle name. Right after Suave and Daring.”
“Do you even know what you're saying half the time?” asked Cinder.
”
”
Marissa Meyer (Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4))
“
I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.
”
”
Samuel Johnson
“
A man who trusts everyone is a fool and a man who trusts no one is a fool. We are all fools if we live long enough.
”
”
Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart (The Wheel of Time, #9))
“
Just because you said dragon demons were extinct—"
"I said mostly extinct."
Alec jabbed a finger toward him.
"Mostly extinct," he said, his voice trembling with rage, "is NOT
EXTINCT ENOUGH."
"I see," said Jace. "I'll just have them change the entry in the demonology textbook from 'almost extinct' to 'not extinct enough for Alec. He prefers his monsters really, really extinct.' Will that make you happy?
”
”
Cassandra Clare (City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2))
“
V-Day…if you need this one day in a year to show everyone else you truly care for “your loved one” I think it’s quite stupid. I hate this commercialism. It’s all artificial, and has nothing to do with real love.
”
”
Jess C. Scott (EyeLeash: A Blog Novel)
“
It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2))
“
Not only will you sleep with me, but you will say 'please.'"
I stared at him, shocked.
The smile widened. "You will say 'please' before and 'thank you' after."
Nervous laughter bubbled up. "You've gone insane. All that peroxide in your hair finally did your brain in, Goldilocks.
”
”
Ilona Andrews (Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, #2))
“
I feel that life is divided into the horrible and the miserable. That's the two categories. The horrible are like, I don't know, terminal cases, you know, and blind people, crippled. I don't know how they get through life. It's amazing to me. And the miserable is everyone else. So you should be thankful that you're miserable, because that's very lucky, to be miserable.
”
”
Woody Allen (Annie Hall: Screenplay)
“
You really saw some?" Liz said an hour later. Sure, we had the stereo blaring and the shower running, but Liz still whispered, "They really...exist?"
"Liz," I whispered back, "they're not unicorns."
"No," Bex said flatly, "they're boys. And they're...good.
”
”
Ally Carter (Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls, #2))
“
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1))
“
Asscrown," I muttered under my breath as I headed to my next class. I wasn't proud of swearing at a complete stranger, no. but he started it.
Noah matched my pace. "Don't you mean 'assclown'?" He looked amused.
"No," I said, louder this time. "I mean asscrown. The crown on top of the asshat that covers the asshole of the assclown. The very zenith in the hierarchy of asses," I said, as though I was reading from a dictionary of modern profanity.
"I guess you nailed me then.
”
”
Michelle Hodkin (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1))
“
It does little good to regret a choice. So often people say, “If only I had known,” implying they would’ve acted differently in a given situation. It is true that desires of the moment can blind one’s sight of the future. Revenge is not as sweet as the adage claims. Yet who could pass a chance to taste it? And if the chance were allowed to slip by, would the fool regret his lack of action?
”
”
K. Ritz (Sheever's Journal, Diary of a Poison Master)
“
We need to reclaim the word 'feminism'. We need the word 'feminism' back real bad. When statistics come in saying that only 29% of American women would describe themselves as feminist - and only 42% of British women - I used to think, What do you think feminism IS, ladies? What part of 'liberation for women' is not for you? Is it freedom to vote? The right not to be owned by the man you marry? The campaign for equal pay? 'Vogue' by Madonna? Jeans? Did all that good shit GET ON YOUR NERVES? Or were you just DRUNK AT THE TIME OF THE SURVEY?
”
”
Caitlin Moran (How to Be a Woman)
“
But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1))
“
This evening I spied her in the back orchard. I decided to sacrifice one of my better old shirts and carried it out to her. The weather’s been warm of late. Buds on the apple trees are ready to burst. Usually by this time of the year, at that time of day, the back orchard is full of screaming children. Damut’s boys were the only two. They were on the terrace below her, running through the slanted sunlight, chasing each other around tree trunks. She stood above them, like a merlin watching rabbits play.
”
”
K. Ritz (Sheever's Journal, Diary of a Poison Master)
“
... It's perfect! Locke would appreciate it."
"Bug," Calo said, "Locke is our brother and our love for him knows no bounds. But the four most fatal words in the Therin language are 'Locke would appreciate it.'"
"Rivalled only by 'Locke taught me a new trick,'" added Galo.
"The only person who gets away with Locke Lamora games ..."
"... is Locke ..."
"... because we think the gods are saving him up for a really big death. Something with knives and hot irons ..."
"... and fifty thousand cheering spectators.
”
”
Scott Lynch (The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1))
“
Vhat ozzer abilities do you haf?" ter Borcht snapped, which his assistant waited, pen in hand.
Gazzy thought. "I have X-ray vision," he said. He peered at ter Borcht's chest, then blinked and looked alarmed.
Ter Borcht was startled for a second, but then he frowned. "Don't write dat down," he told his assistant in irritation. The assistant froze in midsentence.
"You. Do you haf any qualities dat distinguish you in any way?"
Nudge chewed on a fingernail. "You mean, like, besides the WINGS?" She shook her shoulders gently, and her beautiful fawn-colored wings unfolded a bit.
His face flushed, and I felt like cheering. "Yes," he said stiffly. "Besides de vings."
"Hmm. Besides de vings." Nudge tapped one finger against her chin. "Um..." Her face brightened. "I once ate nine Snickers bars in one sitting. Without barfing. That was a record!"
"Hardly a special talent," ter Borcht said witheringly.
Nudge was offended. "Yeah? Let's see YOU do it."
...
"I vill now eat nine Snickers bars," Gazzy said in a perfect, creepy imitation of ter Borcht's voice, "visout bahfing."
Iggy rubbed his forehead with one hand. "Well, I have a highly developed sense of irony."
Ter Borcht tsked. "You are a liability to your group. I assume you alvays hold on to someone's shirt, yes? Following dem closely?"
"Only when I'm trying to steal their dessert"
...Fang pretended to think, gazing up at the ceiling. "Besides my fashion sense? I play a mean harmonica."
"I vill now destroy de Snickuhs bahrs!" Gazzy barked.
”
”
James Patterson
“
I walked past Malison, up Lower Main to Main and across the road. I didn’t need to look to know he was behind me. I entered Royal Wood, went a short way along a path and waited. It was cool and dim beneath the trees. When Malison entered the Wood, I continued eastward.
I wanted to place his body in hallowed ground. He was born a Mearan. The least I could do was send him to Loric. The distance between us closed until he was on my heels. He chose to come, I told myself, as if that lessened the crime I planned. He chose what I have to offer.
We were almost to the cemetery before he asked where we were going. I answered with another question. “Do you like living in the High Lord’s kitchens?”
He, of course, replied, “No.”
“Well, we’re going to a better place.”
When we reached the edge of the Wood, I pushed aside a branch to see the Temple of Loric and Calec’s cottage. No smoke was coming from the chimney, and I assumed the old man was yet abed. His pony was grazing in the field of graves. The sun hid behind a bank of clouds.
Malison moved beside me. “It’s a graveyard.”
“Are you afraid of ghosts?” I asked.
“My father’s a ghost,” he whispered.
I asked if he wanted to learn how to throw a knife. He said, “Yes,” as I knew he would. He untucked his shirt, withdrew the knife he had stolen and gave it to me. It was a thick-bladed, single-edged knife, better suited for dicing celery than slitting a young throat. But it would serve my purpose. That I also knew. I’d spent all night projecting how the morning would unfold and, except for indulging in the tea, it had happened as I had imagined.
Damut kissed her son farewell. Malison followed me of his own free will. Without fear, he placed the instrument of his death into my hand. We were at the appointed place, at the appointed time. The stolen knife was warm from the heat of his body. I had only to use it. Yet I hesitated, and again prayed for Sythene to show me a different path.
“Aren’t you going to show me?” Malison prompted, as if to echo my prayer.
”
”
K. Ritz (Sheever's Journal, Diary of a Poison Master)
“
Snake Street is an area I should avoid. Yet that night I was drawn there as surely as if I had an appointment.
The Snake House is shabby on the outside to hide the wealth within. Everyone knows of the wealth, but facades, like the park’s wall, must be maintained. A lantern hung from the porch eaves. A sign, written in Utte, read ‘Kinship of the Serpent’. I stared at that sign, at that porch, at the door with its twisted handle, and wondered what the people inside would do if I entered. Would they remember me? Greet me as Kin? Or drive me out and curse me for faking my death? Worse, would they expect me to redon the life I’ve shed? Staring at that sign, I pissed in the street like the Mearan savage I’ve become.
As I started to leave, I saw a woman sitting in the gutter. Her lamp attracted me. A memsa’s lamp, three tiny flames to signify the Holy Trinity of Faith, Purity, and Knowledge. The woman wasn’t a memsa. Her young face was bruised and a gash on her throat had bloodied her clothing. Had she not been calmly assessing me, I would have believed the wound to be mortal. I offered her a copper.
She refused, “I take naught for naught,” and began to remove trinkets from a cloth bag, displaying them for sale.
Her Utte accent had been enough to earn my coin. But to assuage her pride I commented on each of her worthless treasures, fighting the urge to speak Utte. (I spoke Universal with the accent of an upper class Mearan though I wondered if she had seen me wetting the cobblestones like a shameless commoner.) After she had arranged her wares, she looked up at me. “What do you desire, O Noble Born?”
I laughed, certain now that she had seen my act in front of the Snake House and, letting my accent match the coarseness of my dress, I again offered the copper.
“Nay, Noble One. You must choose.” She lifted a strand of red beads. “These to adorn your lady’s bosom?”
I shook my head. I wanted her lamp. But to steal the light from this woman ... I couldn’t ask for it. She reached into her bag once more and withdrew a book, leather-bound, the pages gilded on the edges. “Be this worthy of desire, Noble Born?”
I stood stunned a moment, then touched the crescent stamped into the leather and asked if she’d stolen the book. She denied it. I’ve had the Training; she spoke truth. Yet how could she have come by a book bearing the Royal Seal of the Haesyl Line? I opened it. The pages were blank.
“Take it,” she urged. “Record your deeds for study. Lo, the steps of your life mark the journey of your soul.”
I told her I couldn’t afford the book, but she smiled as if poverty were a blessing and said, “The price be one copper. Tis a wee price for salvation, Noble One.”
So I bought this journal. I hide it under my mattress. When I lie awake at night, I feel the journal beneath my back and think of the woman who sold it to me. Damn her. She plagues my soul. I promised to return the next night, but I didn’t. I promised to record my deeds. But I can’t. The price is too high.
”
”
K. Ritz (Sheever's Journal, Diary of a Poison Master)
“
The wish of death had been palpably hanging over this otherwise idyllic paradise for a good many years.
All business and politics is personal in the Philippines.
If it wasn't for the cheap beer and lovely girls one of us would spend an hour in this dump.
They [Jehovah's Witnesses] get some kind of frequent flyer points for each person who signs on.
I'm not lazy. I'm just motivationally challenged.
I'm not fat. I just have lots of stored energy.
You don't get it do you? What people think of you matters more than the reality. Marilyn.
Despite standing firm at the final hurdle Marilyn was always ready to run the race.
After answering the question the woman bent down behind the stand out of sight of all, and crossed herself.
It is amazing what you can learn in prison. Merely through casual conversation Rick had acquired the fundamentals of embezzlement, fraud and armed hold up.
He wondered at the price of honesty in a grey world whose half tones changed faster than the weather.
The banality of truth somehow always surprises the news media before they tart it up.
You've ridden jeepneys in peak hour. Where else can you feel up a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl without even trying? [Ralph Winton on the Philippines finer points]
Life has no bottom. No matter how bad things are or how far one has sunk things can always get worse.
You could call the Oval Office an information rain shadow.
In the Philippines, a whole layer of criminals exists who consider that it is their right to rob you unhindered. If you thwart their wicked desires, to their way of thinking you have stolen from them and are evil.
There's honest and dishonest corruption in this country.
Don't enjoy it too much for it's what we love that usually kills us.
The good guys don't always win wars but the winners always make sure that they go down in history as the good guys.
The Philippines is like a woman. You love her and hate her at the same time.
I never believed in all my born days that ideas of truth and justice were only pretty words to brighten a much darker and more ubiquitous reality.
The girl was experiencing the first flushes of love while Rick was at least feeling the methadone equivalent.
Although selfishness and greed are more ephemeral than the real values of life their effects on the world often outlive their origins.
Miriam's a meteor job. Somewhere out there in space there must be a meteor with her name on it.
Tsismis or rumours grow in this land like tropical weeds.
Surprises are so common here that nothing is surprising.
A crooked leader who can lead is better than a crooked one who can't.
Although I always followed the politics of Hitler I emulate the drinking habits of Churchill.
It [Australia] is the country that does the least with the most.
Rereading the brief lines that told the story in the manner of Fox News reporting the death of a leftist Rick's dark imagination took hold.
Didn't your mother ever tell you never to trust a man who doesn't drink?
She must have been around twenty years old, was tall for a Filipina and possessed long black hair framing her smooth olive face. This specter of loveliness walked with the assurance of the knowingly beautiful. Her crisp and starched white uniform dazzled in the late-afternoon light and highlighted the natural tan of her skin. Everything about her was in perfect order. In short, she was dressed up like a pox doctor’s clerk. Suddenly, she stopped, turned her head to one side and spat comprehensively into the street. The tiny putrescent puddle contrasted strongly with the studied aplomb of its all-too-recent owner, suggesting all manner of disease and decay.
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John Richard Spencer