The most inspiring literature quotes of all time

Get inspired by the world’s most recognized book quotes curated by the Talekey review team, – and make sure to read or re-read the books they come from.

There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.

– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Well-behaved women seldom make history.

– Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.

– André Gide, Autumn Leaves

Who, being loved, is poor?

– Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance

Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.

– J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Get busy living, or get busy dying.

– Stephen King, Different Seasons

The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.

– Chuck Palahniuk, Diary

Travel far enough, you meet yourself.

– David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

None of us really changes over time. We only become more fully what we are.

– Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat

Most people are nice when you finally see them.

– Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Don’t panic.

– Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.

– Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet In Heaven

When someone leaves, it’s because someone else is about to arrive.

– Paulo Coelho, The Zahir

It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.

– Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

For more of the classics, check out Talekey and subscribe today.

Classic books to read again this summer

With the warmer weather around the corner, it’s a great time to get outside with a good book. Here are a few classics you need to pick up now, curated by the TaleKey review team.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre is an orphan who grows up in her aunt’s home suffering with loneliness and cruelty. However, her childhood strengthens her independence and spirit which are necessary for when she finds employment as a governess to Mr. Rochester.

As Jane’s feelings for Rochester develop, she gradually realizes Thornfield Hall's terrible secret and that forces her to decide whether she should stay with Rochester and live with the consequences, or follow her convictions. But does she really want to leave the man she truly loves?

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Winston Smith is an employee of the Ministry of Truth where he rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Inside though, he rebels against the totalitarian state he lives in which demands complete obedience and control through Big Brother, the head of the Party. Smith slowly begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker named Julia in his quest for truth and freedom.

For more great classic content, check out TaleKey today.

Powerful lines in classical literature

If you love classical literature then you will love these powerful lines from great reads, curated by the Talekey review team.

The Children Of Men

Author: P.D. James

Year: 1992

“We can experience nothing but the present moment, live in no other second of time, and to understand this is as close as we can get to eternal life.”

Revolutionary Road

Author: Richard Yates

Year: 1961

"No one forgets the truth; they just get better at lying."

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Author: Zora Neale Hurston

Year: 1937

"She had waited all her life for something, and it had killed her when it found her."

Great Expectations

Author: Charles Dickens

Year: 1890

“We need never be ashamed of our tears.”

Frankenstein

Author: Mary Shelley

Year: 1818

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”

Valis

Author: Philip K. Dick

Year: 1981

"It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane."

The Witches

Author: Roald Dahl

Year: 1983

"It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, so long as somebody loves you."

Birdsong

Author: Sebastian Faulks

Year: 1993

"I know. I was there. I saw the great void in your soul, and you saw mine."

Stardust

Author: Neil Gaiman

Year: 1999

“She says nothing at all, but simply stares upward into the dark sky and watches, with sad eyes, the slow dance of the infinite stars.”

The Price Of Salt

Author: Patricia Highsmith

Year: 1952

“Perhaps it was freedom itself that choked her.”

The Good Soldier

Author: Ford Madox Ford

Year: 1915

"Why can't people have what they want? The things were all there to content everybody; yet everybody has the wrong thing."

For plenty more great classic content, head over to Talekey today.

The best classic American films to watch now

Looking to sit down with a good movie to take your mind off things? Then choose one of these great American films, selected by the Talekey review team, and get your popcorn popping!

Rebecca by Alfred Hitchcock

Joan Fontaine disappears into the role as the second wife of Laurence Olivier, who disappears into the memory of the first. Judith Anderson is deliriously wicked as the dead wife’s most loyal housekeeper.

Stormy Weather by Andrew L. Stone

The story is nothing special — it's a fictionalized version of the life of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson — but oh, that music, singing and dancing. Lena Horne sings the title song, with at-their-peak performances by Robinson, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller and others. The Nicholas Brothers' jaw-dropping dance number was thought by Fred Astaire to be the best dance ever filmed. He was right.

The Graduate by Mike Nichols

This film not only captured the spirit of its time, it helped create and perpetuate it. Dustin Hoffman is lost and drifting after graduation from college and, in the midst of his anti-establishment urges, falls in love with the daughter of the married, middle-aged woman (the wonderful Anne Bancroft) with whom he is having an affair.

For more of the classics, check out Talekey today and subscribe!

Top Must-Read Classic Novels

There are now millions of books out there and on sites like TaleKey that are available to all. However, even though there are new books released all the time, the classic works are still popular. This is a testament to their authors who created stories that have endured for many years. Here are some of the must-read classic novels that you need to see.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)

When most people think of Jane Austen, this is one of the first books that comes to mind. It is an enduring tale of love, family strife, and the search for a husband who is wealthy. The wit and storyline are what keep people coming back to this novel after over 200 years.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)

One of the best known books in literary history, this story is one of inequality, race and segregation in the deep south. It also introduces one of literature's greatest heroes - Atticus Finch, who wants to try and put these issues right. You can read this amazing work on sites like TaleKey.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

Ahead of its time when it was published, Brave New World is a dystopian novel that looks at how technology will shape people's lives and take over. It warns about letting technology get integrated into the world around us. It certainly provokes food for thought.

To read more classic works, visit TaleKey and look through their catalogue.

Classic Novels on Audiobook

Perhaps better than reading a classic novel is to listen to it instead. Some might find the classic works such as those found on TaleKey to be heavy going, so having them read to you can make it easier to follow. Here are some of those classic novels that have been transferred to audiobooks.

1984 by George Orwell

This book has been referenced many times since it was published. The idea of a totalitarian Britain controlled by an all-seeing Big Brother has resonated with many who see examples in our everyday lives. The book comes to life with the narration.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Although Bleak House is not one of Charles Dickens more popular works, it is a great story that is brought to life when in audiobook form. This and many other Dickens novels are available on audiobook on sites like TaleKey. Paul Schofield is the narrator who successfully brings this book to life.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace is a big novel that can take a while to get through. This is why reading it in audiobook form is much easier. You can have this classic work of oncoming war playing in the background while you do other things.

These are just some of the classic books that are available on audiobook. If you want to see what other classic works are available, check out the library on sites like TaleKey.

The Best Lines From Classic Literature

There is a reason why some authors have stood the test of time and so to honour them we at the Talekey review team have curated some of the best-known quotes from the best-known authors that you’re guaranteed to recognize.

1. “It’s much better to do good in a way that no one knows anything about it.” – Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

2. “My dear, I don’t give a damn.” – Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

3. “It sounds plausible enough tonight, but wait until tomorrow. Wait for the common sense of the morning.” – The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

4. “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

5. “Maybe ever’ body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.” – Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck

6. “Terror made me cruel.” – Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

7. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

8. “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” – Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

9. “I assign myself no rank or any limit, and such an attitude is very much against the trend of the times. But my world has become one of infinite possibilities.” – Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

10. “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” – The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

11. “I wished to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a warrant for being. I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction.” – Anthem by Ayn Rand

12. “Be good, be young, be true! Evil is nothing but vanity, let us have the pride of good, and above all let us never despair.” – The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas fils

13. “‘Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.'” – Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

14. “Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” – The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

15. “Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.” – Dune by Frank Herbert

For the very best in classical literature, head over to Talekey today.