Maeve Binchy

I’m an escapist kind of writer. Maeve Binchy I was very pleased, obviously, to have outsold such great writers. But I’m not insane – I do realize that I am a popular writer who people buy to take on vacation. Maeve Binchy  

Earl Derr Biggers

Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes. Earl Derr Biggers Only very brave mouse makes nest in cat’s ear. Earl Derr Biggers This is unexpected… like squirt from aggressive grapefruit. Earl Derr Biggers Careless shepherd make excellent dinner for wolf. Earl Derr Biggers Do not wave stick when trying to [...]

Thomas Berger

The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge. Thomas Berger Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there. Thomas Berger No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other. Thomas Berger  

Louis de Bernieres

People taking photographs of their meals are not critics; they are from the United States. Louis de Bernieres The human heart likes a little disorder in its geometry. Louis de Bernieres  

Arnold Bennett

Journalists say a thing that they know isn’t true, in the hope that if they keep on saying it long enough it will be true. Arnold Bennett Mother is far too clever to understand anything she does not like. Arnold Bennett We shall never have more time. We have, and always had, all the time [...]

Gottfried Benn

Whoever wants to understand much must play much. Gottfried Benn

Saul Bellow

California is like an artificial limb the rest of the country doesn’t really need. You can quote me on that. Saul Bellow Psychoanalysis pretends to investigate the Unconscious. The Unconscious by definition is what you are not conscious of. But the Analysts already know what’s in it – they should, because they put it all [...]

Vicki Baum

Marriage always demands the greatest understanding of the art of insincerity possible between two human beings. Vicki Baum Success is as ice cold and lonely as the North Pole. Vicki Baum To be a Jew is a destiny. Vicki Baum You don’t get ulcers from what you eat. You get them from what’s eating you. [...]

Augusto Roa Bastos

The things that have come into being change continually. The man with a good memory remembers nothing because he forgets nothing. Augusto Roa Bastos What happens is that your wretched memory remembers the words and forgets what’s behind them. Augusto Roa Bastos Anyone who attempts to relate his life loses himself in the immediate. One [...]

J. M. Barrie

It’s a sort of bloom on a woman. If you have it, you don’t need to have anything else; and if you don’t have it, it doesn’t much matter what else you have. J. M. Barrie That is ever the way. Tis all jealousy to the bride and good wishes to the corpse. J. M. [...]

Djuna Barnes

To love without criticism is to be betrayed. Djuna Barnes We are adhering to life now with our last muscle – the heart. Djuna Barnes An image is a stop the mind makes between uncertainties. Djuna Barnes The priceless galaxy of misinformation called the mind. Djuna Barnes Dreams have only the pigmentation of fact. Djuna [...]

John Barth

You’re certain to get a decision in a trial. John Barth Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story. John Barth If you are a novelist of a certain type of temperament, then what you really want to do is re-invent the world. God wasn’t too bad a novelist, except he was a [...]

Amelia Barr

But the lover’s power is the poet’s power. He can make love from all the common strings with which this world is strung. Amelia Barr The inevitable has always found me ready and hopeful. Amelia Barr Whatever the scientists may say, if we take the supernatural out of life, we leave only the unnatural. Amelia [...]

Henri Barbusse

It is not a woman I want – it is all women. Henri Barbusse Two armies that fight each other is like one large army that commits suicide. Henri Barbusse I see too deep and too much. Henri Barbusse

Honore de Balzac

Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught. Honore de Balzac There is something great and terrible about suicide. Honore de Balzac Bureaucracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies. Honore de Balzac Chance, my dear, is the sovereign deity in child-bearing. Honore de Balzac Love has [...]

Faith Baldwin

You cannot contribute anything to the ideal condition of mind and heart known as Brotherhood, however much you preach, posture, or agree, unless you live it. Faith Baldwin Character builds slowly, but it can be torn down within incredible swiftness. Faith Baldwin One of the dreariest spots on life’s road is the point of conviction [...]

Nicholson Baker

Rarely do pens go dry in restaurants. Nicholson Baker Shoes are the first adult machines we are given to master. Nicholson Baker Until a friend or relative has applied a particular proverb to your own life, or until you’ve watched him apply the proverb to his own life, it has no power to sway you. [...]

Beryl Bainbridge

It seems to me that a mutually beneficial relationship between a man and woman requires the man to be dominant. A sensible woman will allow the man to think he is the most important partner. Beryl Bainbridge When I got a telly we had no aerial, but I discovered that if I or one of [...]

Paul Bailey

Blanche is written with a terrible authority, the authority that comes from artistic necessity when the writer is compelled to write by his demon, rather than by his agent or promoter. Paul Bailey

Edmondo De Amicis

A woman is always a mystery: one must not be fooled by her face and her hearts inspiration. Edmondo De Amicis

Richard Bach

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Richard Bach What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly. Richard Bach You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different [...]

Dino Buzzati

Fantasy should be as close as possible to journalism. Dino Buzzati

Louisa May Alcott

I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship. Louisa May Alcott Love is a great beautifier. Louisa May Alcott Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is such a useful root that we cannot get on without it any more than we can without potatoes. [...]

Sholem Asch

The sword conquered for a while, but the spirit conquers for ever! Sholem Asch Writing comes more easily if you have something to say. Sholem Asch An illness is like a journey into a far country; it sifts all one’s experience and removes it to a point so remote that it appears like a vision. [...]

Guillaume Apollinaire

I love men, not for what unites them, but for what divides them, and I want to know most of all what gnaws at their hearts. Guillaume Apollinaire Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. Guillaume Apollinaire Artists are, above all, men who want to become [...]

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