Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae. — Kurt Vonnegut
A book in a man's brain is better off than a book bound in calf - at any rate it is safer from criticism. — Herman Melville
Genuine polemics approach a book as lovingly as a cannibal spices a baby. — Walter Benjamin
Write your own book instead of reading someone else's book about success — Herb Brooks
A book is a collaboration between the one who reads and what is read and, at its best, that coming together is a love story like any other. — Siri Hustvedt
The excellence of this important contribution to genre literature CANNOT be overstated A masterwork. — William F. Nolan
A book is not an isolated being: it is a relationship, an axis of innumerable relationships — Jorge Luis Borges
A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it. — Edward P. Morgan
The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. — James McCosh
The essays are very solipsistic and self-absorbed, I'm totally conscious of that. To me, book writing is fun, and I basically just write about things that are entertaining to myself. — Chuck Klosterman
Every once in a while, a cookbook comes along that simply knocks me out. — Ina Garten
The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business. — John Steinbeck
Of all the ways of acquiring books, writing them oneself is regarded as the most praiseworthy method. — Walter Benjamin
A bad review is like baking a cake with all the best ingredients and having someone sit on it. — Danielle Steel
Short Book Review Quotes
A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit. — John Milton
Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly. — Cornelia Funke
Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly. — Francis Bacon
A book cover is a distillation. It is a haiku of the story. — Chip Kidd
Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book. — Marcus Tullius Cicero
Books choose their authors; the act of creation is not entirely a rational and conscious one. — Salman Rushdie
There comes a point in your life when you need to stop reading other people's book and write your own.
Movie Review Quotes
I don't want to be a part of the demographics. I want to be an individual. I wear each of my films as a badge of pride. That's why I cherish all my bad reviews. If the critics start liking my movies, then I'm in deep trouble. — John Carpenter
I read a review on the Herald, it says it takes 40 minutes to get to the first sex session apparently and the whole movie only contains 11 minutes of forbidden fruit. — John Key
North Korea referred to The Interview as absolutely intolerable and a wanton act of terror. Even more amazing: not the worst review the movie got. — Tina Fey
There comes a day when you realize turning the page is the best feeling in the world, because you realize there is so much more to the book than the page you were stuck on.
We set up a beta site, a test site, with movie, music and book reviews. If you're reading them and you want to buy a book or a ticket for a movie that's reviewed on the site, you can do that without leaving our site. — Jay Chiat
Occasionally an unsuspecting innocent will stumble into a movie like this and send me an anguished postcard, asking how I could possibly give a favorable review to such trash. My stock response is Ebert's Law, which reads: A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it. — Roger Ebert
I think the job of movie reviewing can be really tough. If a film has layers that need to be thought about, it's easy to get missed the first time around. — Roland Joffe
Each time you read a book, a tree smiles knowing there's life after death.
Some movie I was in, I forget which one, some awful little movie, a reviewer said, What is Jessica Walter doing in this movie? And I said, Hello? Trying to make a living? — Jessica Walter
I built my [early] career on negative reviews. There was a cultural war going on, the '60s was going on. All the film critics were square. They hated my movies. You could never have that happen today. Critics are way too hip. — John Waters
What I expect of a movie reviewer is that he should love cinema as much as I do. — Patrice Leconte
On the first movie we got good reviews, but we were still dealing with genre stuff. It's going away. Judge the movie - is it a good one or a bad one? We know we made a great movie and it's being judged for just being a good film. — Avi Arad
Review Quotes
Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you. There was a reviewer a while back who wrote that my pictures didn't have any beginning or any end. He didn't mean it as a compliment, but it was. — Jackson Pollock
To consider judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions is a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy. — Thomas Jefferson
A bad review is even less important than whether it is raining in Patagonia. — Iris Murdoch
The book to read is not the one that thinks for you but the one which makes you think.
The notion that Congress can change the meaning given a constitutional provision by the Court is subversive of the function of judicial review; and it is not the less so because the Court promises to allow it only when the Constitution is moved to the left. — Robert Bork
I was reminded as I was reviewing my life, that I have been in too many conflicts, too many wars, political battles, military battles, civil strifes in government. And always one lesson stands out and that is, those whom you fight most passionately often turn out to be your best friends. — Ferdinand Marcos
I did some film reviews for small papers in Finland and things like that to be able to keep living here. — Renny Harlin
You dont have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
Later, I went down to the Washington field office and an onsite polygraph was administered. After reviewing the polygraph charts in private, the polygraph examiner told me that I had passed and that he believed I had nothing to do with the anthrax letters. — Steven Hatfill
The news today that Bush has vowed to veto any legislation that reviews the security implications of the Dubai Port World's potential management of our ports is ludicrous and the entire Democratic Party is calling him to task for it. — John Conyers
It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is. — John Marshall
A life without purpose is a languid, drifting thing; Every day we ought to review our purpose, saying to ourselves: This day let me make a sound beginning, for what we have hitherto done is naught! — Thomas a Kempis
I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from The Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book. — Abraham Lincoln
There are a lot of good books around. People don't read any more. It's a sad state of affairs. Reading's the only thing that allows you to use your imagination. When you watch films it's someone else's vision, isn't it? — Lemmy Kilmister
I went away in my head, into a book.
One Best Book is Equal To Hundred Good Friends But One Good Friend is Equal To A Library. — Abdul Kalam
The Brahmins say that in their books there are many predictions of times in which it will rain. But press those books as strongly as you can, you can not get out of them a drop of water. So you can not get out of all the books that contain the best precepts the smallest good deed. — Leo Tolstoy
WIth freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy.
I want to open myself. ... I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus. I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil. I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil. I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil! — Abigail Williams
The beauty of literature is you allow readers to see things through other peoples eyes. All good books do this. — Sandra Cisneros
Too much study of the scriptures does more harm than good. The important thing is to know the essence of the scriptures. After that, what is the need of books? One should learn the essence and then dive deep in order to realize God. — Ramakrishna
And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good. — John Steinbeck
Book Sold Quotes
Just think how many books I could've sold if Harry had been a bit more creative with his wand." -[On the success of 50 Shades of Grey] — J. K. Rowling
I've sold too many books to get good reviews anymore. There's a lot of jealousy, because [reviewers] think they can write a good novel or a best-seller and get frustrated when they can't. I've learned to despise them. — John Grisham
Ask her what she craved, and she'd get a little frantic about things like books, the woods, music. Plants and the seasons. Also freedom. Not being bought and sold by some idiot employer, not having the moments of her days valued in fractions of a dollar by somebody other than herself. — Charles Frazier
A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.
Only another writer, someone who had worked his heart out on a good book which sold three thousand copies, could appreciate the thrill that overcame me one April morning in 1973 when Dean Rivers of our small college in Georgia appeared at my classroom door — James A. Michener
One thing is that I wasn't getting booked that well, and they had control over who got the awards, they had control over who sold. And they really did not want Willie or me, either one, to
“have a hit record. They wanted the money, but they didn't want us to be the ones. — Waylon Jennings
'Coraline' is Neil Gaiman's book, it sold a lot, it has a big fan base. It was originally conceived to be live action, but I never really wanted it to be. I always thought that it would work better as an animated film. — Henry Selick
A room without books is like a body without a soul.
Hemingway hated me. I sold 200 million books, and he didn't. Of course most of mine sold for 25 cents, but still... you look at all this stuff with a grain of salt. — Mickey Spillane
Tom Paine was a great American visionary. His book, Common Sense, sold a couple of hundred thousand copies in a population of four or five million. That means it was a best seller for years. People were thoughtful then. Hope is one thing. But you need to have hope with thought. — Studs Terkel
Imagine what our culture would be like if Americans sold ideas, words, and books with the same creativity we use to sell designer jeans, shampoo, and rock stars. Why, we might end up with people whos attention span for the printed word is longer than the time it takes to read a T-shirt. — Jim Trelease
I had written childrens books for 14 years before I published Wicked. And none of them were poorly reviewed, and none of them sold enough for me to be able to buy a bed. — Gregory Maguire
New Books Quotes
Sometimes,' said Pooh, 'the smallest things take up the most room in your heart. — A. A. Milne
Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly -- they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced. — Aldous Huxley
Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid. — Harrison Ford
There comes a time when you have to choose between turning the page and closing the book.
The new illiteracy is about more than not knowing how to read the book or the word; it is about not knowing how to read the world. — Henry Giroux
I don't worry about getting old. I'm old already. Only young people worry about getting old. When I was 65, I had Cupid's eczema. I don't believe in dying. It's been done. I'm working on a new exit. Besides, I can't die now - I'm booked. — George Burns
As the child approaches a new text he is entitled to an introduction so that when he reads, the gist of the... story can provide some guide for a fluent reading. — Marie Clay
Read a thousand books and your words will flow like a river.
I have considered rap music stars, and there is one in my new book, Lovers and Players, and there is also a hip-hop music mogul who I think you will like a lot. — Jackie Collins
Life is a book, and every day that we live is a new page, so paint every page of your life with amazing colors of good deeds and amazing adventures. — Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan Aly Khan
According to New York publishers, Bill Clinton will get more money for his book than Hillary Clinton got for hers. Well, duh. At least his book has some sex in it. — Jay Leno
Books are not about passing time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, one just wishes one had more of it. If one wanted to pass the time one could go to New Zealand. — Alan Bennett
As I’ve reviewed Schwab’s work, he reminds me of a stage magician, diverting your attention with one hand, so you don’t see what he’s doing with the other. It’s easy to be fooled, as Schwab is comfortable with the kind of gee-whiz, ain’t it cool, upbeat, pop psychology business books that were once so popular. One can view him as a well-trained persuader, but once you see the game he’s playing, it’s difficult to retain any respect for him. — Alex Jones
Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a Second Coming that would not be cut down to size by the televised evening news, or a Last Judgment not subject to pages of holier-than-thou second-guessing in The New York Review of Books. — John Updike
It may sound a bit like an army barracks, but the truth of the matter is: there must be some time laid aside for arranging, time for working on either a book or an article - I've written two articles in the last four months for the New York Times book review section. — Mel Torme
There is danger in the concentration of control in the television and radio networks, especially in the large television and radio stations; danger in the concentration of ownership in the press...and danger in the increasing concentration of selection by book publishers and reviewers and by the producers of radio and television programs. — Eugene McCarthy
Writing prejudicial, off-putting reviews is a precise exercise in applied black magic. The reviewer can draw free-floating disagreeable associations to a book by implying that the book is completely unimportant without saying exactly why, and carefully avoiding any clear images that could capture the reader's full attention. — William S. Burroughs
I review novels to make money, because it is easier for a sluggard to write an article a fortnight than a book a year, because the writer is soothed by the opiate of action, the crank by posing as a good journalist, and having an air hole. I dislike it. I do it and I am always resolving to give it up. — Cyril Connolly
One cannot review a bad book without showing off. — W. H. Auden
If I begin my book with a review of the coup, it is only to show that my abiding interests for Australia did not end with it. They shall end only with a long and fortunate life. — Gough Whitlam
Literature should not be exclusive, it should be inclusive. My general view is that you can't, based on your own experience, project what a book will do for someone else. That's why I don't review books. — Richard Ford
I’m interested in so many different things and I’d like to cover a lot of territory. I’m trying to see my show as the Sunday Times. You have the Arts & Leisure section, you have the Op-Ed page, you have the Book Review...even the Style section has those wonderful essays about relationships. — Joy Behar
Prolonged, indiscriminate reviewing of books is a quite exceptionally thankless, irritating and exhausting job. It not only involves praising trash but constantly inventing reactions towards books about which one has no spontaneous feeling whatever. — George Orwell
A good day is one where I can not just read a book, but write a review of it. Maybe today I'll be able to do that. I get for some reason somewhat stronger when the sun starts to go down. Dusk is a good time for me. I'm crepuscular. — Christopher Hitchens
Attacking bad books is not only a waste of time but also bad for the character. If I find a book really bad, the only interest I can derive from writing about it has to come from myself, from such display of intelligence, wit and malice as I can contrive. One cannot review a bad book without showing off. — W. H. Auden
The novels that get praised in the NY Review of Books aren't worth reading. Ninety-seven percent of science fiction is adolescent rubbish, but good science fiction is the best and only literature of our times. — Robert Anton Wilson
The plot is so tired that even this reviewer, who in infancy was let drop by a nurse with the result that she has ever since been mystified by amateur coin tricks, was able to guess the identity of the murderer from the middle of the book. — Dorothy Parker
Children read books, not reviews. They don't give a hoot about critics. — Isaac Bashevis Singer
Professional reviewers read so many bad books in the course of duty that they get an unhealthy craving for arresting phrases. — Evelyn Waugh
I had many wonderful experiences, received beautiful letters, and my Christian books received substantive and thoughtful reviews. But there was always argument, dispute, questions as to what I "really" believed, lectures from here and there on "the real truth," etc. — Anne Rice
There is a secret and wholesome conviction in the heart of every man or woman who has written a book that it should be no easy matter for an intelligent reader to lay down that book unfinished. There is a pardonable impression among reviewers that half an hour in its company is sufficient. — Agnes Repplier
Most people don't have the money to spend on advertising to create awareness among readers, nor do they have the contacts at newspapers or magazines to get their books reviewed. — Sara Paretsky
I look at 'The New York Review of Books.' It's what it has been for 35 or 40 years, which is a highly sophisticated vehicle for anti-American self-hatred. — John Podhoretz
If God had meant Harvard professors to appear in People magazine, She wouldn't have invented The New York Review of Books. — Anna Quindlen
E-books are great for instant gratification - you see a review somewhere of a book that interests you, and you can start reading it five minutes later. — Anne Lamott
Religion embarrasses the commentators. It is offbounds. An editor of the old Life magazine once assigned me a book on religion with remark that I was the only 'religious nut' - his term for a believer - in his stable of regular reviewers. — Garry Wills
The authors of book reviews would consider themselves dishonored were they to mention, as they should, the subject of the book. — Louis Aragon
I write reviews of science books for the Boston Globe, so I like to give science books. — Anthony Doerr
Whenever a text-book is written of real educational worth, you may be quite certain that some reviewer will say that it will be difficult to teach from it. Of course it will be difficult to teach from it. It it were easy, the book ought to be burned. — Alfred North Whitehead
A book reviewer is usually a barker before the door of a publisher's circus. — Austin O'Malley
I'm writing a review of three books on feminism and science, and it's about social constructionism. So I would say I'm a social constructionist, whatever that means — Clifford Geertz
A mom reads you like a book, and wherever she goes, people read you like a glowing book review. — Robert Breault
Book reviewers are little old ladies of both sexes. — John O'Hara
There is interest in a crime-based reality show. With my novels, we are now editing the second book in a series about a defense lawyer whose name is Samantha Brinkman. And I am reviewing speaking engagement opportunities. — Marcia Clark
The main advantage of being a reviewer is that you read a lot. A lot of books get sent to you, and you have an amazing vantage point from which to observe what's going on in contemporary fiction - not only genre stuff, the whole spectrum. — Lev Grossman
Reviewing books is all about coziness. It is all of it a kind of caucus race. Women review women, Jewish writers review and praise Jewish writers, blacks review blacks, etc. — Alexander Theroux
I abide by a rule concerning reviews: I will never ask, neither in writing nor in person, that a word be put in about my book.... One feels cleaner this way. When someone asks that his book be reviewed he risks running up against a vulgarity offensive to authorial sensibilities. — Anton Chekhov
I picture several reviewers of my own books as passing a long future lodged between Brutus and Judas in the jaws of Satan. — Stephen Jay Gould
When I reviewed Hayek's book, The Pure Theory of Capital, it is my sincere conviction that this work contains some of the most penetrating thoughts on the subject that have ever been published. — Fritz Machlup
Ads answered out of desperation in the New York Review of Books proved equally futile as…the 'Bay Area Bisexual' told me I didn't quite coincide with either of her desires. — Woody Allen
Book reviews have never helped me. Most of them erred in their interpretations and their work has been a waste of time. — Manuel Puig
I never read a book before reviewing it; it prejudices a man so. — Sydney Smith
The reason for writing that essay was less a personal agenda than an attempt to explain my unease with the general label of "immigrant literature" after I had read quite a number of reviews (in different countries) involving books written by 'immigrants.' — Sasa Stanisic
I believe passionately in preemptive pessimism, especially before a book comes out. I expect the worst both from reviewers and sales, and then, with any luck, I may be proved wrong. — Antony Beevor
In Conclusion
Which quotation resonated with you best? Did you enjoy our collection of book review quotes? Or may be you have a slogan about book review to suggest. Let us know using our contact form.
Citation
Feel free to cite and use any of the quotes in this collection of book review quotations. For popular citation styles(APA, Chicago, MLA), please use this citation page.
