100+ Ways to Reference a Quote in a Book: Ultimate Copywriting Guide

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Charles Dickens wrote in *A Tale of Two Cities* (p. 3).

In *Pride and Prejudice*, Jane Austen states, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Chapter 1).

Fitzgerald’s narrator observes in *The Great Gatsby*: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (p. 180).

“Call me Ishmael,” begins Herman Melville’s *Moby Dick* (p. 1), setting the tone for an epic narrative.

In *To Kill a Mockingbird*, Harper Lee writes, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (p. 30).

George Orwell declares in *1984*: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength” (p. 7).

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” Tolstoy opens *Anna Karenina* (p. 1).

In *Beloved*, Toni Morrison writes, “Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another” (p. 95).

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me,” says Jane Eyre in Charlotte Brontë’s novel (Chapter 23).

Kurt Vonnegut notes in *Slaughterhouse-Five*: “So it goes” (p. 27).

In *The Catcher in the Rye*, Holden Caulfield says, “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (p. 214).

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that,” Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, though often cited in literary contexts (p. 40).

According to Orwell in *1984*, language can be manipulated to control thought, a concept he called Newspeak (p. 55).

In *The Road*, McCarthy suggests that even in a desolate world, the bond between father and son sustains hope (p. 72).

As expressed in *The Alchemist*, Coelho believes that when you truly desire something, the universe conspires to help you achieve it (p. 22).

Hemingway implies in *The Old Man and the Sea* that defeat does not equate to loss if one maintains dignity (p. 103).

In *Frankenstein*, Shelley illustrates how unchecked ambition can lead to isolation and destruction (p. 167).

García Márquez conveys in *One Hundred Years of Solitude* that solitude is both a personal and generational curse (p. 402).

As depicted in *Their Eyes Were Watching God*, Hurston shows that self-discovery often requires leaving familiar environments (p. 193).

In *The Handmaid’s Tale*, Atwood portrays a society where women’s identities are stripped to serve political agendas (p. 88).

Salinger suggests through Holden’s journey that adolescence is marked by confusion and a search for authenticity (p. 145).

Morrison explains in *Song of Solomon* that understanding one’s heritage is crucial to personal freedom (p. 301).

In *The Bell Jar*, Plath depicts mental illness as a suffocating force that distorts reality (p. 110).

Camus implies in *The Stranger* that life’s absurdity does not negate the possibility of meaning (p. 120).

In *The Godfather*, Michael Corleone says, “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business” (p. 143).

Atticus tells Scout in *To Kill a Mockingbird*: “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience” (p. 104).

In *No Country for Old Men*, Anton Chigurh warns: “You can’t make a deal with death” (p. 89).

Yoda instructs Luke in *The Empire Strikes Back*: “Do or do not. There is no try” (p. 67).

In *The Sun Also Rises*, Brett Ashley confesses: “I don’t want anyone else. I just wish I hadn’t ruined you” (p. 155).

Holden asks in *The Catcher in the Rye*: “Don’t you ever get bored talking about girls and liquor and sex?” (p. 52).

In *The Color Purple*, Shug Avery tells Celie: “God loves all kinds of people, but he especially loves ugly ones” (p. 178).

Gatsby pleads to Daisy in Fitzgerald’s novel: “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!” (p. 110).

In *The Trial*, K. demands: “Who accused me? What have I done?” (p. 23).

Elizabeth Bennet retorts to Mr. Darcy: “I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine” (Chapter 5).

In *Invisible Man*, the protagonist questions: “Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?” (p. 5)

Winston whispers to Julia in *1984*: “We are the dead,” to which she replies, “We are the dead” (p. 156).

Einstein stated in his 1905 paper: “The laws by which the states of physical systems undergo change are not affected by which of two coordinate systems in uniform motion relative to each other these changes are referred” (p. 38).

Darwin wrote in *On the Origin of Species*: “Natural selection acts solely by preserving and accumulating variations favorable under existing conditions” (p. 82).

Stephen Hawking explained in *A Brief History of Time*: “The universe doesn’t allow perfection” (p. 104).

Carl Sagan noted in *Cosmos*: “We are made of star-stuff” (p. 250).

Marie Curie observed: “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood” (*Autobiographical Notes*, p. 45).

Richard Feynman said in *The Character of Physical Law*: “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics” (p. 129).

Neil deGrasse Tyson wrote: “The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it” (*Death by Black Hole*, p. 11).

Katherine Johnson remarked: “We will always have STEM with us. Some things will drop out of the public eye and go away, but there will always be science, engineering, and technology” (NASA Archives, p. 7).

Jane Goodall stated: “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make” (*Reason for Hope*, p. 63).

Linus Pauling wrote: “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas” (*The Scientific American*, p. 102).

Rachel Carson warned in *Silent Spring*: “For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals” (p. 15).

Niels Bohr said: “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future” (quoted in *Physics Today*, p. 33).

Nietzsche wrote in *Thus Spoke Zarathustra*: “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how” (p. 48).

Kant argued: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” (*Groundwork*, p. 30).

Socrates claimed: “The unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato, *Apology*, p. 38).

Simone de Beauvoir stated in *The Second Sex*: “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman” (p. 267).

Jean-Paul Sartre wrote: “Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself” (*Existentialism is a Humanism*, p. 22).

Marcus Aurelius reflected: “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength” (*Meditations*, p. 51).

John Stuart Mill asserted: “Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign” (*On Liberty*, p. 14).

Friedrich Hayek noted: “The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design” (*The Fatal Conceit*, p. 76).

Hannah Arendt observed: “The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution” (*On Revolution*, p. 102).

Michel Foucault claimed: “Power is not an institution, not a structure, not a certain strength we are endowed with; it is the name we give to a complex strategic situation” (*History of Sexuality*, p. 93).

Immanuel Levinas wrote: “Ethics is first philosophy” (*Totality and Infinity*, p. 21).

Confucius taught: “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop” (*Analects*, 9.19).

Les Brown said: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars” (*Live Your Dreams*, p. 12).

Maya Angelou wrote: “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated” (*Letter to My Daughter*, p. 45).

Tony Robbins states: “The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment” (*Awaken the Giant Within*, p. 88).

Oprah Winfrey advises: “Turn your wounds into wisdom” (*The Wisdom of Sundays*, p. 33).

Zig Ziglar proclaimed: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily” (*See You at the Top*, p. 17).

Jim Rohn taught: “Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better” (*7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness*, p. 29).

Eric Thomas shouts: “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful” (*ET The Hip Hop Preacher*, p. 41).

Mel Robbins says: “The secret to getting results that last is to say ‘I’ll do it now’” (*The 5 Second Rule*, p. 72).

Brené Brown writes: “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen” (*Daring Greatly*, p. 37).

Simon Sinek urges: “Start with why. People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it” (*Start With Why*, p. 55).

Gary Vaynerchuk says: “Your dream job won’t fall into your lap. You have to hustle for it” (*Crush It!*, p. 64).

Robin Sharma reminds: “Greatness is not a function of what we do, but who we become” (*The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari*, p. 81).

Abraham Lincoln declared in the Gettysburg Address: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” (1863).

Winston Churchill said: “We shall fight on the beaches” during WWII (1940 speech).

John F. Kennedy proclaimed: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” (Inaugural Address, 1961).

Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin” (1963).

Nelson Mandela said: “It always seems impossible until it’s done” (*Long Walk to Freedom*, p. 544).

Susan B. Anthony stated: “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself” (1897 speech).

Frederick Douglass urged: “Power concedes nothing without a demand” (*Speech on Slavery*, 1857).

Mahatma Gandhi advised: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” (attributed, 1913 letter).

Malcolm X said: “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today” (1964 speech).

Eleanor Roosevelt believed: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” (1950 lecture).

Cesar Chavez proclaimed: “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community” (1974 address).

Harriet Tubman declared: “I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves” (interview, 1896).

Tony Stark says in *Iron Man*: “I am Iron Man” (2008 film, final scene).

Neo is told in *The Matrix*: “There is no spoon” (p. 77).

Dory from *Finding Nemo* repeats: “Just keep swimming” (film dialogue).

Shia LaBeouf yells: “Just do it! JUST DO IT!” (2012 motivational video).

Beyoncé sings: “I woke up like this” (*Flawless*, 2013).

Rick Sanchez mutters: “Wubba lubba dub dub!” (*Rick and Morty*, S1E1).

Omar Little says on *The Wire*: “A man’s got to have a code” (Season 2).

Michael Scott claims: “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious” (*The Office*, S3E16).

Elaine Benes dances oddly on *Seinfeld*—no words needed (iconic episode).

“Winter is coming,” warns Ned Stark in *Game of Thrones* (S1E1).

Ferris Bueller advises: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it” (*Ferris Bueller’s Day Off*).

“Here’s Johnny!” Jack Nicholson shouts in *The Shining* (1980).

The Bible says in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Psalm 23 begins: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Matthew 5:9 states: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

In the Quran, Surah Al-Ikhlas reads: “Say, He is Allah, [who is] One.”

The Quran also says: “Indeed, with hardship comes ease” (Surah Ash-Sharh, 94:5).

The Bhagavad Gita teaches: “You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work” (2:47).

Buddha said: “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without” (Dhammapada).

“Love your neighbor as yourself,” commands Leviticus 19:18.

Proverbs 3:5–6 advises: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

In the Tao Te Ching, Laozi writes: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

The Upanishads state: “Tat Tvam Asi” — “Thou art That.”

Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

“Every morning is a new invitation to begin again,” I wrote in my journal on January 1st.

I realized one day: “Strength isn’t the absence of fear, but action despite it.”

“Progress is measured not by perfection, but by persistence,” became my mantra after a failed project.

I told myself: “You don’t need permission to grow.”

After loss, I learned: “Grief is love with nowhere to go.”

“Creativity thrives in silence,” I noted during a retreat.

I began to believe: “My voice matters, even when it shakes.”

“Rest is not laziness—it’s repair,” I reminded myself during burnout.

I journaled: “Comparison steals joy like a silent thief.”

“Kindness is courage in soft shoes,” I scribbled after a hard conversation.

“You are allowed to outgrow people,” I whispered to my younger self.

I concluded: “Healing is not linear, but it is possible.”