A. S. Byatt Quotes

What literature can and should do is change the people who teach the people who don't read the books.

A. S. Byatt

• People
• Book
• Change
• Literature

• Previous
• Next

Quotes to Explore

• I want to thank the many Missourians who have reached out to me and asked me to consider running for the United States Senate.

  

  Sam Graves
  • Want
  • Me
  • Running

• Public life is regarded as the crown of a career, and to young men it is the worthiest ambition. Politics is still the greatest and the most honorable adventure.

  

  Pat Riley
  • Life
  • Men
  • Career

• I've never had a study in my life. I'm like Jane Austen - I work on the corner of the dining table.

  

  A. N. Wilson
  • Life
  • Work
  • Study

• We as children went up the mountain to find feed for livestock, like goats, cows and horses, and because in the winter time we would light the fire in the house, we would climb the mountain to collect firewood as well. Because of that, I suppose I became used to climbing mountains.

  

  Tamae Watanabe
  • Up
  • Time
  • Children

• Reverence is fatal to literature.

  

  E. M. Forster
  • Literature
  • Reverence
  • Fatal

• If you look at all the vampires in the past, they were sort of decrepit old men. Stephanie Meyers just made it for a new audience. All the vampires are now young men and she describes them as not being ugly.

  

  Daniel Cudmore
  • Past
  • Audience
  • Young

• It's huge in the U.K., if someone's doing well, to put them down. That's what we do all the time. It's kind of like a cultural thing.

  

  Maisie Williams
  • Time
  • Doing
  • Down

• I'm more comfortable writing traditional protagonists. But 'Steve Jobs' and 'The Social Network' have antiheroes. I like to write antiheroes as if they're making their case to God about why they should be allowed into heaven. I have to find something in that character that is like me and write to that.

  

  Aaron Sorkin
  • God
  • Writing
  • Why

• The one thing I am now sure of is that if there is such a thing as destiny, it is a result of our passion, be that for money, power, or love. Passion, for better or worse.

  

  M. J. Rose
  • Money
  • Passion
  • Destiny

• Once again, Pat Robertson leaves us speechless with his insensitivity and arrogance.

  

  Ralph G. Neas
  • Again
  • Once
  • Arrogance

• I haven't chosen any party yet because people choose parties when they get older. When it's time, I'll look, and if I can't find one to join, I'll make another party.

  

  Malala Yousafzai
  • People
  • Time
  • Party

• Human behavior in the midst of hardship caught my attention very early on, and my first stories were all pictures, no words.

  

  Wally Lamb
  • Words
  • Attention
  • Behavior

• Here's the thing that people don't understand: I don't really care. I've never been a careerist. It's not a strategy. I react to certain characters and story lines and specific mode of filmmaking.

  

  Harmony Korine
  • People
  • Strategy
  • Filmmaking

• I am getting to the point where the only love worth being in is the love worth singing about.

  

  Taylor Swift
  • Love
  • Singing
  • Point

• If you're fortunate enough, you get to a position where you can be a little pickier about your roles.

  

  Rachel True
  • You
  • Enough
  • Where

• I think I surprise some people because a lot of the time, I roll out of bed and go to school, and it's like I don't wear anything that interesting sometimes.

  

  Tavi Gevinson
  • People
  • Time
  • School

• I love the produce section at the grocery store.

  

  Kate McKinnon
  • Produce
  • Store
  • Grocery

• If you take a frozen box and stick it in the microwave, you become connected to the factory. We've forgotten who we are.

  

  Laura Esquivel
  • You
  • Forgotten
  • Frozen

• I've tried Botox, I've tried them all. I'm definitely not one of those people who says, 'You shouldn't do this.' Everyone can individually do what they want. For all time women have wanted to, for the most part, look their best. It's just that what we have available to us today is what it is today and if you want to take advantage of it, yeah.

  

  Kylie Minogue
  • People
  • Time
  • Women

• I'm not a musician - I'm a ham.

  

  Ozzy Osbourne Black Sabbath
  • Musician
  • Ham

• Some of the best things about being a vegetarian include, of course, contributing towards the welfare of animals. Being a vegetarian can also make you a healthier person, and it helps the environment. All of these things make vegetarianism worthwhile. It's really a win-win situation.

  

  Laura Mennell
  • Best
  • Environment
  • Animals

• The three main political parties all agree the UK deficit is high and needs to be brought down. All agree that it is easier to get a deficit down if you have faster growth, cutting unemployment-related costs and raising revenues.

  

  John Redwood
  • High
  • Political
  • Growth

• Eat slowly, with other people whenever possible, and always with pleasure.

  

  Michael Pollan
  • People
  • Pleasure

• What literature can and should do is change the people who teach the people who don't read the books.

  

  A. S. Byatt
  • People
  • Book
  • Change