Shellenbarger Quotes & Sayings

His only realistic hope of survival was to order his own artillery to fire on his positions to stall the German attack. Some of his own men might be killed, but "pulling the chain," as it was called, was his only option. — Alex Kershaw

You ok?" he said.
No, I'm not. I'm lonely and exhausted and no kind of mother and on top of all that migrained with fucking idiotic desire.
"I'm fine," I said, and opened the passenger door. — Glen Duncan

Of all the lists I've made of goals, and all the visions I've had, it never before occurred to me that I could be this specific, that I could aspire to a goal actually measurable in inches. I wonder if this is how successful people do it. I wonder if the difference between success and failure could more accurately be described in the waist sizes for jeans. — Lauren Graham

People think genius a fine thing if it enables a man to write an exciting poem, or paint a picture, But in its true sense, that of originality in thought and action, though no one says that it is not a thing to be admired, nearly all, at heart, think that they can do very well without it. Unhappily this is too natural to be wondered at. Originality is the one thing which unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of. They cannot see what it is to do for them: how should they? If they could see what it would do for them, it would not be originality. — John Stuart Mill

I'd become a cult figure to a certain extent because of my movies, but unfortunately it was because of how bad they were! — Pia Zadora

The philosopher is he to whom the highest has descended, and the lowest has mounted up; who is the equal and kindly brother of all. — Thomas Carlyle

You know what they say. Best revenge is looking good, right? — Megan Hart

Fruits each in its season, are the cheapest, most elegant and wholesome dessert you can offer your family or friends, at luncheon or tea. Pastry and plum-pudding should be prohibited by law, from the beginning of June until the end of September. — Mary Virginia Terhune

Is that a baton in your pocket, officer, or are you just happy to see me? — Katee Robert

I believe in the ordinary day
that is here at this moment and is me
I do not see it going its way
but I never saw how it came to me
it extends beyond whatever I may
think I know and all that is real to me
it is the present that it bears away
where has it gone when it has gone from me
there is no place I know outside today
except for the unknown all around me
the only presence that appears to stay
everything that I call mine it lent me
even the way that I believe the day
for as long as it is here and is me — W.S. Merwin

I was hoping to do an impressionist painting, but I wanted a good likeness and I wanted to create a feeling of the lady as a person, as a human being rather than as a figurehead for the monarchy and a pomp-and-circumstance sort of formal portrait. I wanted more of a relaxed portrait. — Rolf Harris

A novelist must wrestle with all mysteries and strangeness of life itself, and anyone who dies not wish to accept that grand, bone-chilling commission should write book reviews, editorials, or health-insurance policies instead. — Pat Conroy