Home / Authors / Nicholson Baker

Nicholson Baker

Nicholson Baker Quotes

Writer

Nicholson Baker is an American writer known for his profound insights into everyday life and his unique perspective on historical events. His works, which span across novels, non-fiction, and poetry, often depict characters' psychological states and social backgrounds with a delicate touch.

Filter quotes by topic

All Thinking Ifs Way Book People Novel World Firsts Want War Writing Facts Kindles Knows Reading Should Sometimes Wanted Bigs British

Famous Nicholson Baker Quotes

“Most good novelists have been women or homosexuals. The novel is the triumphant evolved creation, one increasingly has to think, of these two groups, who have cooperated more closely in this domain than in any other.”

Thinking Has Beens Two Women Novel Groups Creation Novelists Homosexuality Homosexual Domain Triumphant

Book:U and I: A True Story

Source: U and I: A True Story

“I wrote about World War II because I didn't understand it. I think that's the reason that historians are drawn to any subject - there's something about it that doesn't make sense. I wanted to work my way through what happened slowly, and look at everything in the order in which it took place.”

Thinking World Way Looks War Reason Wanted Order Happened Subjects My Way Make Sense War Of The Worlds Historian World War Ii World War I

Author:Nicholson Baker

“Just as the people who lived through the Second World War thought different things on different days, I think everybody who goes through that period carefully now thinks different things on different days.”

People Thinking World Different War Periods War Of The Worlds Different Things Second World War Think Different Different Day

Author:Nicholson Baker

“I am closer to the pacifist side, in that I think that the British response to German aggression, which was to try to starve the Continent into a state of revolt and to terrorize German civilians with bombing raids, was part of the total catastrophe.”

Thinking Trying States Sides Response British Continents Aggression Catastrophe Civilians Revolt Bombing Pacifist

Author:Nicholson Baker

“Sometimes, despite the fact that you're reading through masses of material, you just can't not think about a certain event, for it seems to capture the reality of the entire situation so much better than any set of statistics.”

Thinking Sometimes Facts Reality Seems Certain Reading Situation Events Materials Mass Despite Statistics Capture

Author:Nicholson Baker

“There's something paralyzing about being a writer that you have to escape. I don't want to think of myself as a guy who's written a bunch of books. The 26 letters distance us from our own hesitations and they make us sound as if we know what we're doing. We know grammar, we know prose, but actually we're all just struggling in the dark, really.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Want Book Guy Sound Dark Struggle Written Letters Distance Bunch Prose Grammar Hesitation

Author:Nicholson Baker

“I keep thinking I'll enjoy suspense novels, and sometimes I do. I've read about 20 Dick Francis novels.”

Thinking Sometimes Enjoy Novel Suspense Suspense Novels

Author:Nicholson Baker

“But spending your life concentrating on death is like watching a whole movie and thinking only about the credits that are going to roll at the end. It’s a mistake of emphasis.”

Thinking Ends Whole Mistake Credit Spending Emphasis Concentrating

Book:The Anthologist: A Novel

Source: The Anthologist: A Novel

“Sometimes I'll spend an hour writing a tiny email. I work on it until I've created the illusion that I've dashed it off in three minutes. If I make a typo, I let it stand. Sometimes in fact I correct the typo without thinking, and then I back up and retype the typo so that it'll look more casual. I don't know why.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Writing Looks Sometimes Facts Three Hours Minutes Illusion Tiny Email Casual Typos

Book:The Anthologist: A Novel

Source: The Anthologist: A Novel

“I woke up thinking a very pleasant thought. There is lots left in the world to read.”

Thinking World Left Healing Pleasant Pleasant Thoughts

Book:The Paul Chowder Chronicles: The Anthologist and Traveling Sprinkler, Two Novels

Source: The Paul Chowder Chronicles: The Anthologist and Traveling Sprinkler, Two Novels

“Sometimes I think with the telephone that if I concentrate enough I could pour myself into it and I'd be turned into a mist and I would rematerialize in the room of the person I'm talking to. Is that too odd for you?”

Ifs Thinking Persons Sometimes Enough Rooms Talking Odd Telephones Mist

Author:Nicholson Baker

“I'm often called obsessive, but I don't think I am any more than anyone else.”

Thinking Obsessive

Author:Nicholson Baker

“I think I am done with Wikipedia for the time being. But I have a secret hope. Someone recently proposed a Wikimorgue - a bin of broken dreams where all rejects could still be read, as long as they weren't libelous or otherwise illegal.”

Thinking Long Stills Done Dream Secret Broken Rejects Illegal Wikipedia Broken Dreams

Book:The Way the World Works: Essays

Source: The Way the World Works: Essays

“Maybe the Kindle was the Bowflex of bookishness: something expensive that, when you commit to it, forces you to do more of whatever it is you think you should be doing more of.”

Thinking Should Force Commit Expensive Kindles

Book:The Way the World Works

Source: The Way the World Works

About the Author

Born: January 7, 1957
Known for: Writer
Quotes: 105

Related Topics

Thinking Ifs Way Book People Novel World Firsts Want War Writing Facts Kindles Knows Reading Should Sometimes Wanted Bigs British

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

U and I: A True StoryRelated source material

The Way the World WorksRelated source material

The Anthologist: A NovelRelated source material

The MezzanineRelated source material

MezzanineRelated source material

The AnthologistRelated source material

The Mezzanine: A NovelRelated source material

The Paul Chowder Chronicles: The Anthologist and Traveling Sprinkler, Two NovelsRelated source material

The Size of Thoughts: Essays and Other LumberRelated source material

Vintage BakerRelated source material

Similar Authors

Paul AusterBrowse related quotes
Salman RushdieBrowse related quotes
Joyce Carol OatesBrowse related quotes
George SaundersBrowse related quotes
Sandra CisnerosBrowse related quotes
Neil GaimanBrowse related quotes
John IrvingBrowse related quotes
Junot DiazBrowse related quotes
Stephen KingBrowse related quotes
Umberto EcoBrowse related quotes