Annabel Magaldi > Annabel's Quotes

“Her firm belief was that things would be better in society if there was a periodic ‘social cleansing’ to eliminate those influences that are considered unsavory. She sounds like she’d be fun at parties,” the officer joked.”
― Kathleen Lopez, Thirteen for Dinner

“The dangerously high level of stupidity surplus was once again the lead story in The Owl that morning. The reason for the crisis was clear: Prime Minister Redmond van de Poste and his ruling Commonsense Party had been discharging their duties with a reckless degree of responsibility that bordered on inspired sagacity. Instead of drifting from one crisis to the next and appeasing the nation with a steady stream of knee-jerk legislation and headline-grabbing but arguably pointless initiatives, they had been resolutely building a raft of considered long-term plans that concentrated on unity, fairness and tolerance. It was a state of affairs deplored by Mr. Alfredo Traficcone, leader of the opposition Prevailing Wind Party, who wanted to lead the nation back to the safer ground of uniformed stupidity.”
― Jasper Fforde, The Thursday Next Chronicles

“Flattery will get you nowhere. (In response to Wally George calling his band vile and evil.)”
― Nikolas Schreck

“Eight solid light-years of lead...is the thickness of that metal in which you would need to encase yourself if you wanted to keep from being touched by neutrinos. I guess the little fuckers are everywhere.”
― Michael Chabon, Wonder Boys

“A more accurate term for a system that erases the boundaries between Big Government and Big Business is not liberal, conservative or capitalist but corporatist. Its main characteristics are huge transfers of public wealth to private hands, often accompanied by exploding debt, an ever-widening chasm between the dazzling rich and the disposable poor and an aggressive nationalism that justifies bottomless spending on security. For”
― Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

“Life is based on comparisons”
― Henri Charrière

“I always wondered why God was supposed to be a father," she whispers. Fathers always want you to measure up to something. Mothers are the ones who love you unconditionally, don't you think?”
― Jodi Picoult

“Hannah is a vegetarian; Trace is a cattle rancher. Definitely, not a match made in heaven.
“A horse with a sense of humor. Was that possible?”
― Cricket Rohman, Colorado Takedown

“A virgin," Flaminius smiled deviously. "I'll take her." Instantly, surprised chatter erupted. Mother Guardian held up her hand for silence. "You cannot be serious, Sire." "Oh, but I am," he replied with a smirk.”
― Therisa Peimer, Taming Flame

“The power of one man’s imagination is infinite. The disinterest of the human race in facing the obvious, is exponentially far greater.”
― A.R. Merrydew

“The caption reads, “Emperor Andon-Roon enjoys a surge in popularity after brokering a peace deal with Caderyn after twelve cycles of war.” For some reason this evokes strong emotions in her—deep sorrow, anger—and she stares at the screen transfixed, as if straining to find herself in the story.”
― Stephen Alder, Deehabta’s Song

“FDR Unmasked chronicles Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s life from a physician’s perspective. It tells a harrowing story of heroic achievement by a great leader determined to impart his vision of freedom and democracy to the world while under constant siege by serious medical problems.”
― Steven Lomazow, FDR Unmasked: 73 Years of Medical Cover-ups That Rewrote History

“I warned you; I warned you I was the Senses Taker," sneered the Senses Taker. "I help people find what they're not looking for, hear what they're not listening for, run after what they're not chasing, and smell what isn't even there. And, furthermore," he cackled, hopping around gleefully on his stubby legs, "I'll steal your sense of purpose, take your sense of duty, destroy your sense of proportion — and, but for one thing, you'd be helpless yet."
"What's that?" asked Milo fearfully.
"As long as you have the sound of laughter," he groaned unhappily, "I cannot take your sense of humor — and, with it, you've nothing to fear from me.”
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

“Il Dr. Paul Arnheim non era soltanto un uomo ricco, era anche uno spirito superiore. La sua fama trascendeva il puro fatto che egli era l’erede di un giro d’affari di portata mondiale; nelle ore d’ozio aveva scritto libri che, nei circoli più avanzati, venivano giudicati straordinari. Le persone che fanno parte di tali circoli puramente culturali sono superiori al denaro e ai privilegi della borghesia; ma non si deve dimenticare che, proprio per questo, sono colte da un particolare entusiasmo quando un uomo ricco diventa uno dei loro; e, oltre tutto, nei suoi programmi e nei suoi libri Arnheim annunciava niente meno che la fusione di anima ed economia, vale a dire di idea e potere. Gli spiriti sensibili, dotati di un sottilissimo fiuto per il futuro, proclamarono che egli univa in sé quei due poli, nel mondo solitamente separati, e alimentarono la voce secondo cui stava nascendo una nuova forza, chiamata a dirigere ancora una volta verso il meglio i destini del Reich e, chissà, forse anche del mondo. Infatti, che i principi e i sistemi della vecchia politica e diplomazia stessero scarrozzando l’Europa verso la tomba era da tempo una sensazione universalmente diffusa, e s’era già iniziato in tutti i campi l’allontanamento degli esperti.”
― Robert Musil, The Man Without Qualities

“If you surrender to the wind you can ride it.”
― Toni Morrison

“The sunset bled into the edges of the village. Smoke curled out of the cottage chimney like a crooked finger.”
― Sara Pascoe, Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For

“Mom, please don't use 'the happy voice.' It reminds me of the day Tinkles died."
"Who was Tinkles?" Sue asked around a mouthful of pancake.
"My cat. When I was five, Tinkles died choking on a mouse that was a bit ambitious for a kitten to eat."
"It was terribly traumatic for Aurelia because it was the first time she'd experienced loss." 
"What did you do to help her get through it?" 
Rosalind smiled at Mother Guardian. "Well, after a good cry, we performed an autopsy."
Aurelia reached for her mother's hand. "I never thanked you for that.”
― Therisa Peimer, Taming Flame

“And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That's what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.”
― Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried

“Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

“In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

“Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind maker-upper to make up his mind”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

“And their people loved explaining to John what they loved about their dogs—and especially what they hated about other people’s dogs.”
― David Wroblewski, Familiaris

“That was the first time her grandfather had leaned down and whispered, Be brave, into her ear. And then, Or pretend to be. It’s all the same.”
― Kristin Hannah, The Four Winds

“If there is one suject that has sparked disagreement among food writers and home cooks more than any other, it is the best way to boil an egg...you never want to actually boil eggs, but rather, gently simmer them”
― Irma S. Rombauer, Joy of Cooking

“Scary with you is better than scary without you”
― Tamora Pierce, Emperor Mage

“Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seem good to themselves than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.”
― John Stuart Mill

“People suffering nervous breakdowns often do a lot of research, to find explanations for what they are undergoing. the research, of course fails.”
― Philip K. Dick, VALIS

“There may be humane masters, as there certainly are inhuman ones—there may be slaves well-clothed, well-fed, and happy, as there surely are those half-clad, half-starved and miserable; nevertheless, the institution that tolerates such wrong and inhumanity as I have witnessed, is a cruel, unjust, and barbarous one. Men may write fictions portraying lowly life as it is, or as it is not—may expatiate with owlish gravity upon the bliss of ignorance—discourse flippantly from arm chairs of the pleasures of slave life; but let them toil with him in the field—sleep with him in the cabin—feed with him on husks; let them behold him scourged, hunted, trampled on, and they will come back with another story in their mouths. Let them know the heart of the poor slave—learn his secret thoughts—thoughts he dare not utter in the hearing of the white man; let them sit by him in the silent watches of the night—converse with him in trustful confidence, of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and they will find that ninety-nine out of every hundred are intelligent enough to understand their situation, and to cherish in their bosoms the love of freedom, as passionately as themselves.”
― Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave

“As I reached the door, the constable said, “Good luck in Canada, son.” For a second I expected his voice to morph into Uncle Sid’s as he urged me to give his love to Rose Marie and the Mounties.”
― Michael Wyndham Thomas, The Erkeley Shadows

“I gave up on any hope of redemption long ago. Hell, at this point I’m simply waiting to die. So, leave before you waste any more of your time. I can’t and frankly don’t deserve to help you… 
”
― Cade Mengler, The Companions