Reading is enlightening, enriching, informative, and so much more. I would literally need to come up with neologisms to describe all that reading can do for me (and for us). Be it fiction or non-fiction, we can still learn a lot, be inspired, and simply ponder over the things characters in the books we read say (or think). Keeping in mind this week’s theme for Top Ten Tuesday, today’s post lists 10 wonderful quotes from books, many that the fictional characters have said.

When I realized it will take me too long to figure out which 10 quotes I need to use for this post, I decided to look back at my Sunday post for inspiration. And there it was, the literary birthdays and other celebrations for this week. So I am featuring 10 wonderful quotes from books by authors/literary persons who have a birthday this week. Well, a couple are not from books but quoted by the authors themselves…

10 Wonderful Quotes From Books

What the Characters Said

Pippi Longstocking in the books by Astrid Lindgren

“I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that.”

Coraline from Coraline by Neil Gaiman

“I don’t want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn’t mean anything. What then?”

Scarlett from Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

“After all, tomorrow is another day!”

The Vicar from The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

“We are not to judge the feelings of others by what we might feel in their place.”

Professor Van Helsing from Dracula by Bram Stoker

“I want you to believe…to believe in things that you cannot.”

Captain Smollett from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

“Sir, with no intention to take offence, I deny your right to put words into my mouth.”

character unknown to me from The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

“If you are under the impression you have already perfected yourself, you will never rise to the heights you are no doubt capable of.”

Note: I have not read The Remains of the Day yet but had watched the movie ages ago and loved it. I did not know at the time that it was based on a book.

Billy Pilgrim from Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

“All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist.”

Note: Another book I am yet to read but one that I have kind of read since both my teens had it as part of their required reading and discussed parts of it with me at various times 🙂

The Authors Themselves

Well, the authors said everything else above as well – through their characters!! But the quotes below are not attributed to any character (I am not sure of the Carlos Fuentes quote though so please let me know if any of his characters say these words)

Carlos Fuentes

 “Recognize yourself in he and she who are not like you and me.”

Raja Rao

“It may have been told of an evening, when as the dusk falls, and through the sudden quiet, lights leap up in house after house, and stretching her bedding on the veranda, a grandmother might have told you, newcomer, the sad tale of her village.” – The author’s foreword from Kanthapura

DeWitt Wallace

“I do believe in the value of ideas—and that eventually they get a man somewhere.” – Well, Wallace was not really an author, but he was definitely someone who created and still creating readers all across the world!

Related Reads

• Top Ten Book Quotes
• More Top Ten Bookish Quotes here
• 13 Quotes About Children’s Books
• Quotes – about reading, and from children’s books
• 10 Characters That Deserve More, Better, A Book Their Own, etc.
• Top Ten Characters That Most Resonate With Me

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear reader, do any of these quotes resonate with you? Which ones? What would I see on your list of 10 wonderful quotes from books? Do tell! As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, suggestions, and recommendations.