In a world of niceness, the nicest thing of all is the nice feeling that comes from being nice.
Victoria Salt, A Compendium of Opening Lines.
Calvin believes that handwriting should be abandoned completely and replaced with foot writing. He believes this, and about a dozen other things.
Ralston Dowd, A Spot of Bother.
To all questions seeking permission, the answer should be “No.” And “No” and “No” and “No” and….
Dennis W. Sylvester, Confessions of a Moon Man.
“In the morning—the first thing tomorrow—I am going to compile a list of words never to use. And I do mean never.“
Will Southey, Government Cheese, the Novel.
“I think that everything is interesting, and that we deceive ourselves into believing that only certain things are interesting.” Irene was feeling just the slightest hint of irritation with her culture.
Anselm Bligh, A Collection of Miniatures.
Please name the films:
“You’ve got to watch them. You’ve got to watch them all the time.”
“Run! Run in the corridor!”
“You fired me, didn’t you? I’ve got to eat, don’t I?”
Jeremy Breedlove, A Sardonic View of the Movies.
“In sleep, I am beside myself,” laughed Bob. “I am fit to be tied.”
Sebastian Sleeve, The Random Walk and Other Stories.
Sure, I might be run over and killed, but at least I get to look down at my palm while crossing the street. And at least I get to examine a photograph of a very special kitten wearing an amusing hat. Sure, the picture is only the size of a baseball card, but who wants to notice one’s surroundings?
Jason Starling, ed., Adventures in Narrative Parsimony.
Commonplace phrases: (1) quickly and quietly, (2) to and fro, (3) modulus of elasticity, (4) deep sea fishing, (5) giant among men, (6) sleeping rough, (7) lost and found, (8) horse play, (9) cheap psychology, (10) if and only if, (11) giveth and taketh, (12) eye to eye, (13) through thick and thin, (14) all manner of things, (15) ear to the ground, (16) day after day after day.
Tessa Fielding and Constance Gogarty, A Book of Lists.
“I’m just an ordinary person,” said Desmond. “I could never really know anything, could I? I mean, nothing important. Nothing like that.“
Kiefer Sythe, The Detective Club.
dennis scharnberg 