Commonplace

"Mr. Goby, however, materialized with his usual suddenness from the small room which was sacred to..."

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:15:06 -0400

“Mr. Goby, however, materialized with his usual suddenness from the small room which was sacred to Miss Lemon’s typewriter and where she had evidently kept him in storage.”

- Agatha Christie, Third Girl

"What did she look like?” Poirot considered for a moment. “An Ophelia devoid of physical..."

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:13:21 -0400

““What did she look like?”
Poirot considered for a moment.
“An Ophelia devoid of physical attraction.””

- Agatha Christie, Third Girl

"Tea-drinking in the early morning has always appeared to me as an indulgence for which there is..."

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:45:49 -0500

““Tea-drinking in the early morning has always appeared to me as an indulgence for which there is nothing but spinelessness as an excuse,” she said.”

- Margery Allingham, Police at the Funeral

"Never say ‘no’ to adventures. Always say ‘yes,’ otherwise you’ll lead..."

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 17:43:23 -0400

“Never say ‘no’ to adventures. Always say ‘yes,’ otherwise you’ll lead a very dull life.”

- Ian Fleming, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang

"She could be attractive when she wanted to be but life had taught her that efficiency and competence..."

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:33:03 -0400

“She could be attractive when she wanted to be but life had taught her that efficiency and competence often paid better results and avoided painful complications.”

- Agatha Christie, Cat Among the Pigeons

"[B]ut even in England, which is not noted for sanity in this respect, we find it hard to believe..."

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:48:36 -0400

“[B]ut even in England, which is not noted for sanity in this respect, we find it hard to believe that a gentleman can spend weeks upon weeks testing tennis balls.”

- Ben Macintyre, Operation Mincemeat

"Unmarried, nocturnal, and allergic to children[.]"

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:47:42 -0400

“Unmarried, nocturnal, and allergic to children[.]”

- Ben Macintyre, Operation Mincemeat

"[I]t’s the first gift that’s always the hardest to pay back."

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 07:50:42 -0400

“[I]t’s the first gift that’s always the hardest to pay back.”

- Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

"All right,” said Father Brown. “I never said it was always wrong to enter fairyland. I..."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:20:42 -0400

““All right,” said Father Brown. “I never said it was always wrong to enter fairyland. I only said it was always dangerous.””

- G.K. Chesterton, The Innocence of Father Brown

"The priest had turned his face to the castle as he answered: “We have found the truth; and the..."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:19:45 -0400

“The priest had turned his face to the castle as he answered: “We have found the truth; and the truth makes no sense.””

- G.K. Chesterton, The Innocence of Father Brown

"Men may keep a sort of level of good, but no man had ever been able to keep on one level of evil."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:18:41 -0400

“Men may keep a sort of level of good, but no man had ever been able to keep on one level of evil.”

- G.K. Chesterton, The Innocence of Father Brown

"He was a kind man, and had also that bad imitation of kindness, the dislike of any difficulty or..."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:17:00 -0400

“He was a kind man, and had also that bad imitation of kindness, the dislike of any difficulty or scene.”

- G.K. Chesterton, The Innocence of Father Brown

"It was one of those journeys on which a man perpetually feels that now at last he must have come to..."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:16:24 -0400

“It was one of those journeys on which a man perpetually feels that now at last he must have come to the end of the universe, and then finds he has only come to the beginning of Tufnell Park.”

- G.K. Chesterton, The Innocence of Father Brown

"Literary enthusiasm never made a scholar, and unmade many."

Sat, 21 May 2011 15:56:48 -0400

“Literary enthusiasm never made a scholar, and unmade many.”

- Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

"His fastidiousness was far more strongly developed than his curiosity."

Fri, 13 May 2011 08:44:39 -0400

“His fastidiousness was far more strongly developed than his curiosity.”

- Agatha Christie, Sad Cypress

"[I]f there was a party whose main platform was being nice to people, freedom of speech and..."

Thu, 05 May 2011 16:53:57 -0400

“[I]f there was a party whose main platform was being nice to people, freedom of speech and supporting libraries I’d sign up for it[.]”

- Neil Gaiman, 4 May 2011 blog entry

"I think aunts must have come into being on the seventh day when God took his eye off the ball."

Sun, 01 May 2011 19:29:56 -0400

“I think aunts must have come into being on the seventh day when God took his eye off the ball.”

- Chris Dolley, What Ho, Automaton!

"Thou has described / A hot friend cooling."

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:05:56 -0400

“Thou has described / A hot friend cooling.”

- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never taste of death but once. / Of all..."

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:05:37 -0400

“Cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never taste of death but once. / Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, / It seems to me most strange that men should fear. / Seeing that death, a necessary end, / Will come when it will come.”

- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

"Dwell I but in the suburbs / Of your good pleasure?"

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:04:07 -0400

“Dwell I but in the suburbs / Of your good pleasure?”

- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar