For the last three years, I’ve posted lists of my favorite book quotes. Feel free to check out the previous years below:
Let’s dive into my list for this year!
Favorite Quotes from 2020
“Our lives can follow different paths,” Sledge said, turning the knobs that tilted the surface and maneuvered the ball through the labyrinth and around the holes. “And along the way, obstacles intervene and alter our course, and of we’re not careful -“ the ball dropped through a hole, “- we get lost.”
— Snowball by Gregory Bastianelli
Katie picked up her mug of tea and took a sip. Predictably, it had gone cold. Sometimes, it seemed like her entire life was measured out in undrunk mugs of tea.
— The Other People by C.J. Tudor
To come in as a murderer and to murder is one thing. To come in as a friend, but to be a foe is another. Deceit is really the true crime of humanity.
— True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik
Tracing the money would be more complicated than working out why God saw fit to give the Tyrannosaurus Rex ridiculously small arms when clearly the rest of its torso had been designed for something much more fear inducing.
— Last of the Mountain Men by Tony Moyle
“My friends,” Varney says, grinning and spreading his arms wide. “Let us make haste, for the night is calling to us, and we alone have the answer it seeks.”
— Until the Sun by Chandler Morrison
There was something about this cabin, like every single other cabin they had been to, that creeped him out. It made his skin want to crawl off of his body and hide in a dark corner until someone told him everything would be okay and that yes, Santa and the Easter Bunny were real and nothing could get him. But he knew for a fact that this was life, horrible and frightening at the same time.
— Cabins: A Short Story by R.F. Blackstone
I thought about that for a moment. The President of the United States wants to spend a half-billion dollars to put a man on the moon, and here I am worrying about a fawn nobody would miss if I had killed it outright. I’ve always believed that little things matter, and though, while not very important in the grand scheme of things, right now the only help that fawn was going to get was me, and it mattered.
— Sarah’s Cross by Dean M. King
It’s hard today, but it won’t stay hard forever.
— Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel
When we put off doing something we don’t want to do, we keep the unpleasant thing right in front of us for much longer than we need to. As long as we are contemplating the issue, we’re dwelling on the negative. If we’re dreading something, we can serve ourselves well by dealing with it sooner rather than later. If we’re overthinking something we can actually do something about, the best thing we can do is speed up to move on. Take action as soon as possible.
— Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel
We don’t have to do it ourselves. When we get someone else to do it, we give ourselves the gift of one less thing to worry about, one less thing to handle, one less thing to manage so we can put our mental energy to better use.
— Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel
Andy unwraps his scarf and inhales the scent of the books. Ever since he learned to read, Andy has loved books more than anything, and he feels the old excitement bubble up now at the mere thought of the countless universes lurking between the pages. In those universes he can get lost for hours on end.
— The Girl Who Wasn’t There by Nick Clausen
Worrying does nothing to strengthen tomorrow. It only ruins today.
— The Patience of a Dead Man by Michael Clark
The woman’s hair, makeup, and manicure were perfect, yet overdone – she stood out like a plastic rose in a garden of weeds.
— Dead Woman Scorned by Michael Clark
Don’t make light of something you don’t understand. That’s stupidity.
— Behemoth by H.P. Newquist
To allow those thoughts into one’s head was to give the enemy the keys to the front door.
— Anger Is An Acid by Michael Clark
Anger left her body as if a candle had been blown out.
— Anger Is An Acid by Michael Clark
Don’t make light of something you don’t understand. That’s stupidity.
— Behemoth by H.P. Newquist
“I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, honey, but I’m corporate America, accomplishing nothing due to a solid slate of meetings is classified as a job well done.”
— Creature by Hunter Shea
“Never presume to know the journey of another, friend,” he said.
— Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
Predictability is an anxious person’s favorite teddy bear.
— Killer Chronicles by Somer Canon
Kyle flashed a nonchalant grin as Donna gave him a look that would’ve made a corpse shiver.
— The Perfectly Fine House by Stephen Kozeniewski & Wile E. Young
A familiar sense of terror she hadn’t felt since she was a small girl hit her like the front end of a buick.
— Scratches by Joshua Marsella
That’s the stuff that makes life worth living, when you find that little spot of peace in a busy and tough world.
— Catfish in the Cradle by Wile E. Young
Starke entered his house a detective, slipped off his shoes and became a husband and father.
— The Fallen Boys by Aaron Dries
People didn’t like to believe that they could share any traits with child-killers and molesters, cannibals, necrophiliacs, rapists, serial murderers, and the like, because it meant that, deep down, they would have to acknowledge that anyone could be that kind of monster, even a loved one. Even oneself.
— Chills (Kathy Ryan, #1) by Mary SanGiovanni
If anything decided to take me now, the devil would have to set an extra place at dinner tonight.
— The Magpie Coffin by Wile E. Young
One rule I live by is I never threaten to do somethin’ I’m not prepared to do if I hafta.
— Rico Stays by Ed Duncan
Houses are always changing. Coats of paint. Rows of laminate. Rolls of carpet. They cover up the home’s stories and secrets, rendering them silent until someone comes along to reveal them.
— Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
It didn’t matter what mark someone placed on you, it only mattered what you chose to do with your life. Either let their judgement destroy you or prove everyone wrong.
— Memory Clouds (The Circuit Book 1) by Tony Moyle
We live or die by the choices we make.
— Dead Daughters by Tim Meyer
People think evil is easy to spot. They think of evil and imagine a monster. They imagine the Devil with horns, something obvious and identifiable. But sometimes evil looks just like the kid next door.
— Monstre: Volume One by Duncan Swan
“You’ll need to watch out for those who spread gossip as easily as dandelions spread their seed,” he said. “But really keep an eye on the ones who live on decay, like the fungus that grows on hurt or weak trees.”
— Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
She turned to lie on her side, the curve of her bare hips lit by a soft lamp. It was a beautiful landscape he never got enough of.
— Crossroads by Laurel Hightower
He thought nothing of the sound at first, but then a chill shot down his spine. Something in the air had changed, getting his attention. A warning.
— Out At Sea by Aiden Merchant
“Scientists are actually preoccupied with accomplishment. So they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something. They conveniently define such considerations as pointless.”
— Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
“All your life, other people will try to take your accomplishments away from you. Don’t you take it away from yourself.”
— The Lost World by Michael Crichton
You never can figure what the hell life is up to.
— Ghost Mine by Hunter Shea
Sweet chocolate. The solution to all the world’s problems.
— Food Fright by Nico Bell
Was it just him, or was the darkness growing, like a wine stain spreading out across a white tablecloth?
— Misfits by Hunter Shea
Guilt is a slow-growing flower.
— Girl on Fire by Gemma Amor
It’s interesting how we can spend our lives blowing our own problems out of proportion when nature is out there, waiting. It doesn’t care how you’re feeling today. It’s full of creatures that want to drink your blood or feast on your dead flesh.
— The Ethereal Transit Society by Thomas Vaughn
One thing Abby learned about growing up was that there was a lot of blood involved.
— Seeing Things by Sonora Taylor
Sully pulled a Guinness behind the bar. He was a bear of a man, but whether that was a grizzly or a teddy bear depended on how a person held his liquor.
— Shadow Ridge by M.E. Browning
Dan shakes his head. “I didn’t watch that show.”
William looks at him, dumbfounded. “Seriously? Dude, if Netflix survives the end of the world, we’re gonna watch Breaking Bad together.”
— Dead Meat: Day 6 by Nick Clausen
Cole wasn’t going to point out that was fiction. And that Romeo and Juliet hadn’t beheaded anyone with a circular saw.
— Clown In A Cornfield by Adam Cesare
Bess smiled and made her way over to the coffee. She poured some into one of the disposable cups stacked next to the pot and smiled down at the beautiful caffeinated cup of something to do with her hands.
— Antioch by Jessica Leonard
My mom once told me that my dad had given me an alliterative name, Wade Watts, because he thought it sounded like the secret identity of a superhero. Like Peter Parker or Clark Kent. Knowing that made me think he must have been a cool guy, despite how he’d died.
— Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
So many stars. The worst thing about civilization is it took the stars away from us.
— Plunge by Joe Hill, art by Stuart Immonen
Thanks for reading!
Did you have any favorite quotes from the books you read in 2020?
Ooh these are good. I especially like the one from Sarah’s Cross!
<3