Pelecanos In Order Quotes & Sayings

He did not believe in luck at all, good or bad. Gamblers believed in luck, and he was not a gambler. Never had been, never would be. John Henry Holliday believed in mathematics, in statistics, in the computation of odds. Fifty-two cards in a deck. Make it easy. Say it's fifty. Any card has a 2 percent chance of being dealt from a full deck. Keep track of what's out. Adjust the probabilities as the hand progresses. — Mary Doria Russell

I don't ... like rhythm, assonance, all that stuff. You just go on your nerve. If someone's chasing you down the street with a knife you just run, you don't turn around and shout, 'Give it up! I was a track star for Mineola Prep.' — Frank O'Hara

She had a hit for every syllable: 'Don't. You. Ever. Talk. To. Me. Like. That. Ever. Again.' That was the last time I ever talked back to Mom. — Misty May-Treanor

You shot me, Zane."
"Baby, if I'd shot you, you wouldn't be alive complaining about it," Zane said, then leaned sideways to check the backyard.
"Well, someone shot me. It's upsetting."
Zane glared at him before rolling his eyes. "Kelly had the beanbags, you can talk to him about it later."
"It's very upsetting," Ty repeated, pressing his hand to his chest. — Abigail Roux

I promise you, Cole Bridge, that in honor of the little child you once were, I will never forget that JB is a gift from God. I will honor his unique, gorgeous person with enough love for both him and the memory of a little boy who deserved so much more than he got, for as long as I live and beyond."
She kissed his lips.
"Amen."
He held her close and kissed her hard, her tears salty on both of their lips. "You are so much. I have no words."
"I know," she said. "I feel that way about you too. — Debra Anastasia

I had always assumed that the right way to do it was to these engineers, put them in offices by themselves with doors that they could close so they could think deep thoughts. This is a terrible idea. — Eric Schmidt

As the tide washed in, the Dutch Tulip Man faced the Ocean:
"Conjoiner rejoinder poisoner concealer revelator. Look at it, rising up and rising down, taking everything with it."
"What's that?" Anna asked.
"Water," the Dutchman said. "Well, and time. — John Green

I like the pleasant things most women enjoy, even if I do wear breeches and boots on an expedition, even sleep in them at times ... but I powder my nose before going on deck, no matter how rough the sea is. — Louise Boyd

I don't believe that murders can be "solved." I think that this is the big lie of the mystery novel, that you should close the book and feel that the world is back in order and everything's all right. I want the reader to know that the world is not all right, and maybe we ought to do something about it. — George Pelecanos

The worst kind of novel is one that blames other people for the racial problem in order to make the reader feel good about himself. As if it's only rich white people or Republicans or conservatives who have this disease. — George Pelecanos

Saved for a far more glamorous doom, she was. — Barbara Newhall Follett

Parminder kept her unwept tears locked tightly inside where they seemed to undergo an alchemical transformation, returning to the outer world as lava slides of rage. — J.K. Rowling

Can I? Can I speak my mind or am I dumb inside a borrowed language, captive of bastard thoughts? What of me is mine? — Jeanette Winterson

Figjams, her mum would call them: Fuck I'm Great, Just Admire Me. — Sarah Lotz