I’ve tried to narrow down my favourite book quotes into one compact list here. I could very easily have included lots more, but these are some that stand out for me, either because they’re inspirational or because they capture an idea perfectly…

“We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”
J. K. Rowling, Very Good Lives

“If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it’s found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care, but they’re massively outnumbered by the people who do.”
Andy Weir, The Martian

“Words are in my not-so-humble opinion, the most inexhaustible form of magic we have, capable both of inflicting injury and remedying it.”
J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

“There are good days and hard days for me – even now. Don’t let the hard days win.”
Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly… if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
Roald Dahl, The Twits

You might have noticed that two of these quotes are from J. K. Rowling – who is endlessly quotable, and not just in her fictional books. If you haven’t read Very Good Lives, I’d really recommend it. It’s an illustrated version of her 2008 Harvard commencement address, which you can read online here.

Proceeds from the sale of the physical book go towards both financial aid at Harvard and Lumos, a non-profit international children’s organization founded by J.K. Rowling.

Do you have a favourite book quote? Let me know in the comments.