A.S. King > Quotes

“I'm sorry, but I don't get it. If we're supposed to ignore everything that's wrong with our lives, then I can't see how we'll ever make things right.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“The world is full of assholes. What are you doing to make sure you're not one of them?”
― A.S. King, Everybody Sees the Ants

“Isn't it funny how we live inside the lies we believe?”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“Today I am in control because I want to be. I have my fingers on the switch, but have lived a lifetime ignoring the control I have over my own world. Today is different.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“All those people who are chained here thinking that their reputations matter and this little shit matters are so freaking shortsighted. Dude, what matters is that you're happy. What matters is your future. What matters is that we get out of here in one piece. What matters is finding the truth of our own lives, not caring about what other people think is the truth of us.”
― A.S. King, Ask the Passengers

“Because with Charlie, nothing was ever easy. Everything was windswept and octagonal and finger-combed. Everything was difficult and odd, and the theme songs all had minor chords.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“I wish we could go back in time and climb trees together again. I love you, Vera. I always will.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“Listen to me. They may control what you do, but no one can pee on your soul without your permission.”
― A.S. King, Everybody Sees the Ants

“I'd rather feel something for real than pretend it's not what it is.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“I was also built from delusional optimism and folly.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“I felt a mix of wanting to kill him and wanting to kiss him at the same time. When I thought of what true love must be like, I figured it must be like this, and not the stupid eighth grade infatuation most girls my age felt. True love includes an equal part of good and bad, but true sticks around and doesn't run off to Vegas with a podiatrist.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“I miss him so much, but it's confusing, because I missed him long before he was dead, and that's the bitch of it all. I missed him long before he was dead.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“It seems the older people get, the more shit they ignore. Or, like Dad, they pay attention to stuff that distracts them from the more important things that they’re ignoring.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“I am equal to a baby and to a hundred year old lady. I am equal to an airline pilot and a car mechanic. I am equal to you. You are equal to me. It's that universal.
Except that it's not.”
― A.S. King, Ask the Passengers

“The simplest answer is to act.”
― A.S. King, Everybody Sees the Ants

“Not living your life is just like killing yourself, only it takes longer.”
― A.S. King, Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

“Look, this is a loan. I don't know if love is something I will run out of one day. I don't know if I should be giving it all to you guys or not. Today, I feel like maybe I should have kept some for myself for days when no one else loves me.”
― A.S. King, Ask the Passengers

“Is it okay to hate a dead kid? Even if you loved him once? Even if he was my best friend? Is it okay to hate him for being dead?”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“They don't know what love is. Here they learn what hate is, and I am so sad that they might never know love because hate came first.”
― A.S. King, Everybody Sees the Ants

“But it feels good to love a thing and not expect anything back. It feels good to not get an argument or any pushiness or any rumors or any bullshit. It's love without strings. It's ideal.”
― A.S. King, Ask the Passengers

“How can we say nobody's perfect if there is no perfect to compare to? Perfection implies that there really is a right and wrong way to be. And what type of perfection is the best type? Moral perfection? Aesthetic? Physiological? Mental?”
― A.S. King, Ask the Passengers

“I want to tell her that the only thing you get from walling yourself in is empty.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“I mean, I ignore plenty of stuff, like school spirit days and the dirty looks I get from the Detentionheads while I try to slink through the halls unnoticed. But there's something about telling other people what to ignore that just doesn't work for me. Especially things we shouldn't be ignoring.

Hear that girl in your class is being abused by her stepfather and had to go to the clinic? Hear she's bringing her mother's pills to school and selling them to pay for it? Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. Mind your own business. Don't make waves. Fly under the radar. It's just one of those things, Vera.

I'm sorry, but I don't get it. If we're supposed to ignore everything that's wrong in our lives, then I can't see how we'll ever make things right.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“The thing you don't see while you're still there on Earth is how easy it is to change your mind. When you're in it and you're mixed up with feelings, assumptions, influences, and misconceptions, things seem completely impossible to change. From here, you see that change is as easy as flicking a light switch in your brain.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“How many things do I have to invent in my head to survive this?”
― A.S. King, Ask the Passengers

“I'd rather feel something for real than pretend it's not what it is. Which Zen guy said "If you want to drown, do not torture yourself with shallow water"?”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“You'll never lose me, Vera. I'm the Great Hunter now.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz

“I want my life to be easier than this. I mean, I know I'm not some starving kid who has to wash clothes in the Ganges for a nickel, but today just sucks.”
― A.S. King, Ask the Passengers

“You are not your virginity. You are a human being. The state of your hymen has nothing to do with your worth.”
― A.S. King, Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

“Look at that, Vera.”
I tilt my head back and see a sky full of stars.
“Can you tell which one is me?” he asks.
I point to the brightest one.”
― A.S. King, Please Ignore Vera Dietz