Home / Quotes / Quote by Paul Theroux

Quote by Paul Theroux

“A travel book is about someone who goes somewhere, travels on the ground, sees something and spends quite a lot of time doing it, and has a hard time, and then comes back and writes about it. It's not about inventing.”

Quote by Paul Theroux

Author

Paul Theroux, born on April 10, 1941, is a renowned film writer from the United States. Theroux is known for his distinctive style of storytelling, which often delves into profound life philosophies and social issues. more

You May Also Like

“Fiction writing, and the reading of it, and book buying, have always been the activities of a tiny minority of people, even in the most-literate societies.”

People Writing Book Reading Fiction Activity Tiny Buying Minorities Fiction Writing

Author:Paul Theroux

“I can't predict how reading habits will change. But I will say that the greatest loss is the paper archive - no more a great stack of manuscripts, letters, and notebooks from a writer's life, but only a tiny pile of disks, little plastic cookies where once were calligraphic marvels.”

Littles I Can Reading Loss Habit Paper Letters Tiny Plastic Cookies Notebook Manuscripts Archives Reading Habits Disk

Author:Paul Theroux

“Literary life used to be quite different in Britain in the years I lived there, from 1971 to 1989, because money was not a factor - no one made very much except from U.S. sales and the occasional windfall.”

Years Made Different Used Factors Used To Be Britain Occasional

Author:Paul Theroux

“Many aspects of the writing life have changed since I published my first book, in the 1960s. It is more corporate, more driven by profits and marketing, and generally less congenial - but my day is the same: get out of bed, procrastinate, sit down at my desk, try to write something.”

Writing Trying Firsts Book Changed Bed Aspect Marketing Profit Driven Corporate Desks Writing Life 1960s Procrastinating Life Has Changed

Author:Paul Theroux

“Mark Twain was a great traveler and he wrote three or four great travel books. I wouldn't say that I'm a travel novelist but rather a novelist who travels - and who uses travel as a background for finding stories of places.”

Book Stories Use Three Four Travel Findings Mark Backgrounds Novelists Traveler Great Travel Travel Books

Author:Paul Theroux

“People write about getting sick, they write about tummy trouble, they write about having to wait for a bus. They write about waiting. They write three pages about how long it took them to get a visa. I'm not interested in the boring parts. Everyone has tummy trouble. Everyone waits in line. I don't want to hear about it.”

People Want Writing Long Three Waiting Lines Trouble Pages Sick Boring Bus Not Interested Visa

Author:Paul Theroux

“When I was in the Peace Corps I never made a phone call. I was in Central Africa; I didn't make a phone call for two years. I was in Uganda for another four years and I didn't make a phone call. So for six years I didn't make a phone call, but I wrote letters, I wrote short stories, I wrote books.”

Years Made Two Book Stories Four Six Letters Phones Two Years Short Story Four Years Phone Calls Uganda Peace Corps

Author:Paul Theroux

“The evils of mortals are manifold; nowhere is trouble of the same wing seen.”

Evil Literature Trouble Wings Mortals Manifold

Author:Aeschylus

“The first thing I think of when I hear the name of Lucille Ball is a Hollywood legend. I have fond memories of growing up at her house, but she was a different person off the set than she was on the set.”

Thinking Firsts Persons Different House Names Memories Growing Up Growing Hollywood Balls Legends Fond Memories

Author:Keith Thibodeaux

“I think people often confuse success with fame and stardom.”

People Thinking Fame Stardom

Author:Brenda Blethyn