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| Link | Quote | Stars | Tags | Author |
| 2a69f82 | It was true, of course, there was an abnormal level of narcissism in our society, but it did not do, he told himself, to spend too much time going on about it. Society changed. Narcissism was about love, ultimately, even if only love of self. And that was better than hate. By and large, Hate, of all the tempting gods, was the unhappiest today. He had his recruits, naturally, but they were relatively few, and vilified. Did it matter if young.. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 9896fa1 | the vet and the wound | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 470f0af | Everything, thought Mama Ramotswe, has been something before. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| ef40f96 | We don't forget...Our heads may be small, but they are as full of memories as the sky may sometimes be full of swarming bees, thousands and thousands of memories, smells of places, of little things that happened to us and which come back, unexpectedly, to remind us of who we are. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 5a7b46f | looked at Jock Dundas, who was | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| b4e2df4 | modern people always appeared to be rushing about doing things, having no time, it seemed, for looking at the sky, | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 8c08f36 | You might imagine that the magic stopped at the airport, and to a great extent it did. When we arrived back in London, the skies were overcast and heavy. The bus driver from the airport was morose and unkempt; the streets seemed run-down and dirty, the people sour-faced. But that, I suspect, is how coming home is for everyone; Parisians probably felt the same when they returned from somewhere else. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| debecb1 | A marriage, she had learned, is seldom what it seems to be on the surface; what appears to be the most equable, well settled of arrangements might be a seething mass of discontent and resentment underneath. And conversely, chaotic and noisy relationships, littered with conflict and infidelity, might prove to be the most durable of unions. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 6f44f59 | No matter what precautions were taken, socks disappeared into a Bermuda Triangle for socks, a swirling vortex that swallowed one sock at a time, leaving its partner stranded. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 334aab1 | If you have enemies, then your biggest enemy is yourself. Do you know that, Mma? | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 2504611 | The voices of the children were pure; their hearts were pure. Some of them had already discovered how hard life could be; others had yet to do so and probably did not fully understand what the world could be. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| bb5a40a | I've never played,' said von Igelfeld. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| dbef1c3 | one should not crow over the defeat even of those who richly deserve to be defeated. That was dangerous, because then you yourself might get what you deserve for revelling in the misfortunes of another. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| ecdc51f | Do not be afraid of people who lurk in the shadows. Stand up for what you believe in. The people in the shadows are no match for people who are not afraid of light. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 509afb6 | Be very careful of anything that looks too good to be true. Because if it looks too good to be true, that's probably because that's exactly what it is! | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 41239ee | You should have seen him," she said. "A real ladies' man. Stuff in his hair. Dark glasses. Fancy shoes. He had no idea how funny he looked. I much prefer men with ordinary shoes and honest trousers." | men honesty | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| a235851 | Such men knew their worth, but did not flaunt it. Such men could look anybody in the eye without flinching; even a poor man, a man with nothing, could stand upright in the presence of those who had wealth or power. People did not know, Mma Ramotswe felt, just how much we had in those days--those days when we seemed to have so little, we had so much. She | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 2cb7190 | Mr. Polopetsi is such a...such a modest man, even perhaps a bit mousy." She transferred her gaze to Mma Ramotswe. "Not that I want to be rude, Mma." | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| ef713d1 | and Mma Potokwane remained uncertain whether Mma Ramotswe was testate or intestate. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 4a282f6 | I think it's best for us to face up to our own mistakes," she" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 53ba223 | Mma Ramotswe had been understanding. Men who sired children and then failed to accept responsibility for them were anathema to her, and she reserved particular disapproval for those who then completely disappeared. She | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 38a85d2 | there was something that Isabel had said that always stuck in his mind. Remember what you have and the other person doesn't. It was simple--almost too simple--advice and yet, like all such home advice, it expressed a profound truth. | kindness | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| b74e3a1 | He smiled as he imagined the composite Jamie/Isabel, who would play the bassoon, read philosophy, interfere in other people's affairs rather too much, drive a green Swedish car and make legendary potatoes Dauphinoise. | relationships | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| e1e4a53 | He evidently did not care that they were in full view of a cluster of dog-owners walking their dogs. He stopped and took her in his arms, kissing her passionately and urgently. | marriage romance | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| a56816a | Waiting in the reception area, she had flicked through a news magazine that had been lying on the table for clients to read while waiting for their appointment. On the cover there had been a picture of a well-known politician, a man famous for his rudeness and aggression. She had looked at the eyes--the piercing, accusing eyes, and had seen only an impenetrable, defensive anger. Nothing--no forced smiles nor rehearsed protestation of concer.. | personality politicians eyes | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 92fe0aa | And then," continued the clerk, "they send those students out at the end of their course and say, 'Go off and use those big words and long sentences to get all the good, high-paying jobs. And once you're in those jobs, always remember to use long sentences to protect your position. If you use long sentences, nobody will dare remove you. That is an important rule that we have worked out.' That is what they say, Mma--I have heard it on very g.. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| b4d494b | He is a good man, but even a good man can fall for a glamorous woman. That is well known." "That is very well known," agreed Mma Ramotswe. "Look at Adam. Look how he fell for Eve." "Just because she had no clothes on, he fell for her," said Mma Makutsi. "That sometimes helps," said Mma Ramotswe." | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 9c19d07 | A kind word, a word of encouragement or admiration, could shift the heaviest, most recalcitrant baggage. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| a004101 | 'You can't read everything. I've never got beyond the beginning of Proust. I love him, but I can't seem to get beyond about page three.' They were comfortable in each other's company, and this confession seemed to accentuate the ease of their relationship. The confession itself was not entirely true; Isabel had read more Proust than that, but other people undoubtedly found it reassuring to think that one had only read a few pages. Certainly.. | politicians proust lie | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 9c7babb | Without delay," echoed Charlie. "Those are very good words, I think. Without delay. Please will you pay my bill without delay. Please leave without delay. Please improve your attitude without delay..." Mma Makutsi shot Charlie a" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| b74de81 | Why do you ask that dog if he has a soul?" Mma Ramotswe sighed. "It's very complicated, Rra. You see...Well, you see: Mma Makutsi said dogs were just meat inside. Those were her actual words." "She's wrong," he said. "I think so. I" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 78c3152 | Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni," she asked, "do you think that our souls grow as we get older?" He did not answer immediately, but when he did, she thought his answer quite perfect. "Yes," he said. "Our souls get wider. They grow like the branches of a tree--growing outwards. And" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 369004a | A dog sees no point in dwelling on things that have happened; the important thing is that they are not happening now. In that respect, they have something to teach us: we so often feel that then is now, and this leads us to prolong the suffering of yesterday into the suffering of today. Dogs do not do that. With | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 183bea3 | that weddings are far more than marriage ceremonies; we know that they are occasions for family stock-taking and catharsis; that | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 0606200 | However she redefined herself, that part of one that made for the core of the self, that part that we think of as the ultimate, inner being--that was ineradicable Scottish. That part spoke with a Scottish voice; that part looked out through Scottish eyes; and it was that part that now welled within her as she gazed out through the window of the descending plane and saw below her the rolling Borders hills... | love-of-country scotland patriotism | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 03fc796 | products of soulless machines and relentless globalization... | soulless globalization | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 20351bf | Are we facing a new Dark Age, Angus? Possibly, Lou. A dark age in which our concentration spell is this long. | dark-age new-dark-age | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 44e9189 | He would sit down and consider the situation carefully. Not only did this help to identify the solution to the problem, but it also gave him the opportunity to remind himself that things were not really as bad as they seemed; it was all a question of perspective. Sitting down and looking up at the sky for a few minutes--not at any particular part of the sky, but just at the sky in general--at the vast, dizzying, empty sky of Botswana, cut h.. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| b587c64 | It would be wonderful, she thought, to write a book which would help other people. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| d25d677 | There are plenty of people who might prefer to go sideways. What about them? How are we to inspire them? | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| d71b684 | what moved me was that I had found something I didn't think could exist. And that thing - the thing that I found - was very simple. Most people know all about it and have never really doubted it because their lives have been such as to give them a glimpse of the thing that they were not sure about, which is love, of course: the sheer fact of feeling of love for another, of finding the one person - the only person, it seems - who makes the w.. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| c7897ab | The country must be full of liars," she continued. "There must be liars around every corner. Liars hiding behind every bush. Liars just waiting to tell lies about something. Unrepentant liars. Old liars, young liars; perhaps even babies whose first word is a lie. Perhaps" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| c60875d | Trust your nose, but make sure it's pointing in the right direction. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| e2b2869 | the finding of a cargo of whisky was, in a sense, like the finding by the Israelites of manna in the wilderness. And | Alexander McCall Smith |