The lines worth keeping
Book quotes, reading lists, and criticism of books, art and music.
Credited to the book
Article quotes are checked against the full text and cited to the chapter. Lucy’s collection credits every line to its book.
Books, art and music
Reviews and close readings across all three, especially where they meet.
One writer
Written and chosen by Lucy Levine, not scraped from a quote database.
Our Mission
Quote sites are full of lines nobody can find in the book they are credited to. This one is careful about that: quotes in the articles are found in the text and cited to the chapter, and Lucy’s own collection credits every line to its book and labels anything that is a paraphrase or of doubtful origin. Alongside the quotes are reading lists, and reviews and essays on books, paintings and records.
Lucy Levine
Writer & Critic
Lucy Levine writes about books, art and music. This site collects the lines from books she keeps coming back to, the reading lists she would hand a friend, and her reviews of novels, paintings and records. Quotes in her articles are checked against the book and cited to the chapter.
Connect on LinkedInFrequently Asked Questions
Are the quotes on this site real?
The quotes in our articles are copied from the full text of each book and cited to the chapter, and most come from public-domain texts you can read free on Project Gutenberg. Lucy’s Quote Collection comes from her own reading notes: every line is credited to its book, and review excerpts, paraphrases and lines of uncertain origin are labelled as such.
Where can I read the full books?
Most of the classic novels quoted here are in the public domain and free to read on Project Gutenberg. Each quote collection links to the source text.
What are weird book quotes?
Sentences from real books that are strange, funny or unsettling out of context, and often stranger in context. The strangest sentences in classic literature.
Who writes the reviews?
Lucy Levine. More about Lucy.
Can I suggest a quote or a book?
Yes. Use the contact page, and include the book and, if you know it, the chapter.