Jonathan Carroll Quotes

Salzburg... is a mountain town with a rushing river running right through the center, everything in the rain various shades of green and brown.

For an adult, eating alone at McDonald's is admitting a kind of defeat.

My memory loves you… it asks about you all the time.

Sometimes it is the smallest thing that saves us: the weather growing cold, a child's smile, and a cup of excellent coffee.

The only two important things in life are real love and being at peace with yourself.

May this house stand until an ant drinks the ocean and a tortoise circles the world.

You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you're sure they won't laugh if you trip.

Learn to wait; invariably either things will change or your heart will.

The fact that I’m silent doesn’t mean I have nothing to say.

People who truly love us can be divided into two categories: those who understand us, and those who forgive us our worst sins. Rarely do you find someone capable of both.

Sometimes you have to give up on people. Not because you don't care, but because they don't.

Dogs are minor angels, and I don't mean that facetiously. They love unconditionally , forgive immediately, are the truest of friends, willing to do anything that makes us happy

Yo can always take back the lost parts of yourself if you can find and recognize them.

Both young children and old people have a lot of time on their hands. That's probably why they get along so well.

Coffee on an airplane always smells bad. Whenever it is served, suddenly the whole cabin stinks of it.

Real love is always chaotic. You lose control; you lose perspective. You lose the ability to protect yourself. The greater the love, the greater the chaos. It’s a given and that’s the secret.

Lying is too much trouble. You have to make sure to taste each word before letting it off your tongue. I hate that. It's hard enough making people understand without lying.

Writing a short story is like having a short intense affair, whereas writing a novel is like a long rich marriage.

I would have given him everything. I would have pulled down planets to make our life work.

Even the handsomest men do not have the same momentary effect on the world as a truly beautiful woman does.

Fear pounds on the door to our heart demanding to be let in. Joy is modest and often comes into our lives like a shy person entering a room; it can take a while to even notice it's there.

Everyone coming out of a perfume store is smelling the back of their hand.

The problem with waiting for someone, whether that wait is an hour or a lifetime, is everyone's 'clock' is different. So what you might consider forever is only a little while to them, or vice versa.

Very often I'll find out at the end of a book what I put in at the beginning. A sort of process of elimination and discovery in one.

I forgive nothing. If you stole my orange crayon in the fifth grade, you're still on my hit list, buddy.

You know people don't get better as we get older- we just get more of who we are.

Krakow is one of my favorite places on earth. It is a medieval city full of young people. A wonderful, striking combination.

Why do people always gesture with their hands when they talk on the phone?

Although our emotions sometimes behave like spoiled, selfish children, unfortunately we cannot send them to their room or tell them to stop screaming.

Some people are like blue jeans- the older and more beat up they get, the better they look.

The first great real intimacy between two people begins when secrets are told.

I read less of everything now. With only fond memories of others' work, it will be interesting to give my own journal writing a try now.

At a Boston signing, someone from the audience asked why I was so obsessed with furniture in my books. The question rattled around in my head. I had no idea that I was obsessed with furniture.

It's always fun to walk down the street with or behind a really beautiful woman, for no reason other than to see how the world reacts to them.

Just write about what bites you and damn the rest.

Everything you want in life has teeth.

I write about what interests me. It's very dangerous when you try to satisfy an audience.

Most men think they are good drivers. Most women think they are good in bed. They aren't.

There's almost always a point in a book where something happens that triggers the rest of the plot.

Far more disturbing than any spook house at an amusement park is a ride through the old hometown if you've been away for years.

In Poland, my audience is all women between 18 and 30. At U.S. conventions, you have the fantasy and science fiction crowd. At Harvard you have an entirely different audience. It's so schizophrenic.

Its easy to lose sight of what you want when you think you want everything.

I had always liked blind dates. If nothing else, it was an interesting way of discovering what people thought of you.

Ive never seen myself as a fantasy writer-ever.

I feel like a cliche.

Fear's greatest weapon is its ability to blind one to anything. In its presence, we forget there are others to consider, things to save besides ourselves.

Your boyfriend had a dream about potatoes and you're asking me to interpret it? I'm just old. Being old doesn't mean you know more; it means you ate enough fiber.

If I don't feel like writing today or for a few days, I don't. And I don't think about it. It is not an obligation-it is the greatest privilege.

Old people are often impatient, but for what?

The only question that nobody ever asks is: What breaks your heart? I think that should be asked of all "artists."... So, what breaks your heart?