John Irving Quotes
Quotes to Explore
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Let's judge a man on what he's done.
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I've read quite a few readers' reviews of my book on Amazon, saying, 'Ah, he criticises the free market, he advocates central planning.' I don't do that for a minute! But this is our black and white, dichotomous way of thinking - which has really been harmful.
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We do high heels, and people know us for that, but the idea of wearing a flat from day to night feels special.
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There is an expression now that is commonly used about these so-called internal conflicts which are not really internal, because they have connections to the outside world.
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I am a very loyal man and always keep my promises when I commit to something.
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It fits my ADD, so that's good. Because I really can't focus on anything for too long. And 'Top Gear's really the easiest thing to do because I'm with my pals. It's like coming home with my friends. We're having so much fun making the show.
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More and more, we're used to taking things in through the eyes rather than through the ears, and opera is more of a spectacle.
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When I was a child, I did always feel that people were hiding things, and that they weren't expressing their true feelings. When adults are too complicated, and cover their emotions with layers of well-intentioned subterfuge, the child isn't seeing reality clearly enough and gets upset.
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Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
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If we want to talk about freedom, we must mean freedom for others as well as ourselves, and we must mean freedom for everyone inside our frontiers as well as outside.
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On stage, you can use your emotions. It's the place where you can channel them. They have a purpose.
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I can't live without activity; I can't be sedentary.
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Of course, relative citation frequencies are no measure of relative importance. Who has not aspired to write a paper so fundamental that very soon it is known to everyone and cited by no one?
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I simply wanted to get through college as quickly as humanly possible. I had no interest in extracurricular activities or anything that required me to be social. I was allergic to people.
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I guess the reality is, everybody today has so many gadgets.
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It's quite fun to mess with the human voice. It's quite special in the sense that the voice is the #1 instrument that we can connect with; it doesn't sound too alien. I think that's the key is to find the line between sounding human and sounding robotic. That's an area that I like to explore a lot.
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I don't think I'd like to be a different person. But I do sometimes see my cats lolling about and think it would be nice to be one of them.
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The fans treated me royally.
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I don't want to smoke on screen, as I will be sending a wrong message to my fans, and I appeal to my costars too, to avoid smoking scenes if possible.
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There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry.
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The music that I've had out so far was obviously very pop, but when I signed with Hollywood Records, I was like, 'I know that's the music you're familiar with, but that's not what I want to sing. I want to do country.' They were on board with it!
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It's very much like filmmaking always is-you're always asked to do something that you're not sure you know how to do. So you make an educated guess as to what you think will work and you hope between that and plan B, that you can end up with a product that's really good.
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More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginning of all wars - yes, an end to this brutal, inhuman and thoroughly impractical method of settling the differences between governments.
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Good habits are worth being fanatical about.