Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Paul Monette

Quote by Paul Monette

“We were doing the best we could with what we had left, and more and more it was like Diogenes tossing away the tin cup because he could drink with his hands. It turns out there is no end to learning what you can do without.”

Quote by Paul Monette

Book:Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir
Create image

Work

Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Paul Monette
Paul Monette

Paul Monette was an American author known for his profound and sincere literary works. His writings often focused on the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the lives of gay men. Monette's works are celebrated for their deep insights into emotions and identity, and have had a significant impact on the literary world. more

You May Also Like

“From my father I had learned that books were to be either adored or exiled. Books that were of God—books written by the Mormon prophets or the Founding Fathers—were not to be studied so much as cherished, like a thing perfect in itself. I had been taught to read the words of men like Madison as a cast into which I ought to pour the plaster of my own mind, to be reshaped according to the contours of their faultless model. I read them to learn what to think, not how to think for myself. Books that were not of God were banished; they were a danger, powerful and irresistible in their cunning. To write my essay I had to read books differently, without giving myself over to either fear or adoration. Because Burke had defended the British monarchy, Dad would have said he was an agent of tyranny. He wouldn’t have wanted the book in the house. There was a thrill in trusting myself to read the words. I felt a similar thrill in reading Madison, Hamilton and Jay, especially on those occasions when I discarded their conclusions in favor of Burke’s, or when it seemed to me that their ideas were not really different in substance, only in form. There were wonderful suppositions embedded in this method of reading: that books are not tricks, and that I was not feeble.”

ReadingKnowledgeLearningBooks
Book:Educated
Create image

“Hey Kate, you coming to our show Friday night?" He leaned in close and touched my shoulder. "The guys would love to see you there." "Yes. Yes, the guys would indeed." Carter rolled his eyes and smirked. I held back my grin, well aware that he was laughing inwardly at the same thing I was. When Dean spoke of 'the guys,' he mostly meant himself. With a body like a Ken doll and hair like Meredith's McDreamy, I couldn't figure out for the life of me what he wanted with me.”

LoveRomanceDramaContemporary RomancePreservationRealistic FictionRachael Wade
Book:Preservation
Create image