“When we pass by another person without telling them we love them it’s cruel and wrong and we all know this.” KnowsPersons Author:Dave Eggers
“People say I talk slowly. I talk in a way sometimes called laconic. The phone rings, I answer, and people ask if they've woken me up. I lose my way in the middle of sentences, leaving people hanging for minutes. I have no control over it. I'll be talking, and will be interested in what I'm saying, but then someone-I'm convinced this what happens-someone-and I wish I knew who, because I would have words for this person-for a short time, borrows my head. Like a battery is borrowed from a calculator to power a remote control, someone, always, is borrowing my head.” PeopleIfsWayPersonsSometimesHappensAsksWishLosesAnswersTalkingMiddleMinutesLeavingPhonesSentencesConvincedRingsMy WayOver ItBorrowedBorrowingShort TimeBatteriesRemote ControlCalculatorsLaconicControl Someone Book:You Shall Know Our Velocity Source: You Shall Know Our Velocity
“Nonfiction narratives are really powerful and valid in themselves. But one thing that you don't get sometimes from the more clinical or academic books or nonfiction books is that you don't get to hear the person's voice; you don't get them as individuals. You get a few quotes and you hear them as sort of a case study: numbers, examples, anecdotes, maybe a paragraph here, and that's about it.” PersonsBookSometimesIndividualVoicePowerfulNumbersCasesStudyOne ThingExampleNarrativeNonfictionAcademicParagraphAnecdotesClinicalsReally PowerfulCase Studies Author:Dave Eggers
“We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will steal his soul, we identify our secrets, our past and their blotches, with our identity, that revealing our habits or losses or deeds somehow makes one less of oneself.” FeelsPersonsSoulPastGivenLossSecretIdentityHabitPhotographerOneselfDeedsStealingPrimitiveOur PastEmbarrassingRevealingPrivate Things Author:Dave Eggers
“Every time a crime was committed by a Muslim, that person's faith was mentioned, regardless of its relevance. When a crime is committed by a Christian, do they mention his religion? ... When a crime is committed by a black man, it's mentioned in the first breath: 'An African American man was arrested today...' But what about German Americans? Anglo Americans? A white man robs a convenience store and do we hear he's of Scottish descent? In no other instance is the ancestry mentioned.” MenFirstsPersonsTodayChristianBlackWhiteCrimeBreathsCommittedStoresInstanceAfrican AmericanWhite ManConvenienceRelevanceArrestedAncestryScottishDescent Author:Dave Eggers
“Live long enough and you'll disappoint everyone. People think you're able to help them and usually you can't. And so it becomes a process of choosing the one or two people you try hardest not to disappoint. The person in my life I am determined not to disappoint is you.” PeopleThinkingTryingPersonsLongTwoEnoughHelpingAbleProcessDeterminedHardestDisappointI Am Determined Book:A Hologram for the King Source: A Hologram for the King
“Do not be critics, you people, I beg you. I was a critic and I wish I could take it all back because it came from a smelly and ignorant place in me, and spoke with a voice that was all rage and envy. Do not dismiss a book until you have written one, and do not dismiss a movie until you have made one, and do not dismiss a person until you have met them. It is a f@*$%load of work to be open-minded and generous and understanding and forgiving and accepting, but Christ, that is what matters. What matters is saying yes.” PeoplePersonsMadeBookMatterWishUnderstandingVoiceChristAcceptingCreativityWrittenMetsInnovationForgivingCriticsEnvyRageIgnorantGenerousSpokesLoadWhat MattersOpen MindedSaying YesSmelly Author:Dave Eggers
“I always like the idea of doing interviews with somebody but completely seriously not ever mentioning what that person is generally known for.” PersonsIdeasKnownInterviews Author:Dave Eggers
