43 Paul Auster Quotes for You to Enjoy

Paul Auster

American Author

Born: Feb 3, 1947

About Life Me People Think You

Related authors: F. Scott Fitzgerald Frederick Douglass Helen Keller Henry David Thoreau Joyce Meyer Mark Twain Og Mandino Zig Ziglar

The world is so unpredictable. Things happen suddenly, unexpectedly. We want to feel we are in control of our own existence. In some ways we are, in some ways we're not. We are ruled by the forces of chance and coincidence. Paul Auster

World Own Control Our Ruled Ways Unpredictable Some Feel Forces Existence Unexpectedly Want Happen Suddenly Things Things Happen Chance Coincidence

I think if we didn't contradict ourselves, it would be awfully boring. It would be tedious to be alive. Paul Auster

Think Alive Ourselves Would Would-Be Boring Contradict Tedious

We all die, we all get sick, we all feel hunger and lust and pain, and therefore human life is consistent from one generation to the other. We all - most of us, anyway - want connections with other people and spend our lives looking for them. Paul Auster

Life Generation People Looking Pain Lust Sick Other Our Spend Our Lives Consistent Hunger Feel Most Get Die Human Want Anyway Them Us Human Life Therefore Connections Lives

It's extremely difficult to get these jobs because you can't get a job on a ship unless you have seaman's paper's, and you can't get seaman's papers unless you have a job on a ship. There had to be a way to break through the circle, and he was the one who arranged it for me. Paul Auster

I was always interested in French poetry sort of as a sideline to my own work, I was translating contemporary French poets. That kind of spilled out into translation as a way to earn money, pay for food and put bread on the table. Paul Auster

Work Food Money Own Translation Pay Earn Sideline Way Out Kind Spilled Table My Own Poetry Poets Put Contemporary French Sort Always Bread Interested Translating

If you're not ready for everything, you're not ready for anything. Paul Auster

You Everything Ready Anything

Those of us who can remember our childhoods will recall how ardently we relished the moment of the bedtime story, when our mother or father would sit down beside us in the semi-dark and read from a book of fairy tales. Paul Auster

Book Remember Mother Father Will Sit Down Our Those Beside Would Ardently Tales Read Fairy Fairy Tales How Bedtime Childhoods Story Us Moment Who Recall

I'm living in the present, thinking about the past, hoping for the future. Paul Auster

Future Past Living Thinking Hoping About Present

Children, I mean, think of your own childhood, how important the bedtime story was. How important these imaginary experiences were for you. They helped shape reality, and I think human beings wouldn't be human without narrative fiction. Paul Auster

You Reality Important Own Think Shape Without Narrative How Bedtime Were Childhood Human Children Experiences Fiction Human Beings Story Mean Your Helped Beings Imaginary

I think it's a very good thing to leave your country and look at it from afar. Paul Auster

Good Country Think Good Thing Look Leave Afar Very Your Thing

I think New York has evolved in my work just the way the city has. Paul Auster

Work Think Way Evolved City New York Just New York

Even in New York, there are a lot of very attractive girls pedaling around. That just happens to be one of the nice sights in our city, seeing a young woman on a bike. Paul Auster

You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not an audience, it's one to one. Paul Auster

You Book Films Books Say See About Audience Always Opposed Person Just Just One Interesting Interesting Thing Thing

I woke up one day and thought: 'I want to write a book about the history of my body.' I could justify talking about my mother because it was in her body that my body began. Paul Auster

Day History Book Mother Thought One Day About Could Write Talking Because Woke Began Up The History Of Want Justify Body Her

I guess the toughest things in translations are word play, which can never be reproduced exactly. Paul Auster

Word Guess Exactly Toughest Never Which Translations Play Things

People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say it's absolutely idiotic. I mean, there's no way to reconcile those two things. You just have to forget the whole business of what people are saying. Paul Auster

Saying Best You Business People Will Way Say Those Reconcile Absolutely He Look Read Another Idiotic Passage Person Forget Same Just Mean Whole Ever Thing Things Two

I really have no interest in myself. Paul Auster

Myself No Interest Interest Really

I write the paragraph, then I'm crossing out, changing words, trying to improve it. When it seems more or less OK, then I type it up because sometimes it's almost illegible, and if I wait, I might not be able to read it the next day. Paul Auster

Day Words Sometimes Wait Changing Type OK Out Paragraph Able Seems Crossing More More Or Less Write Almost Read Because Up Improve Trying Might Then Next Less

When I'm writing, I don't feel neurotic. So it's better for the family if I'm working. Paul Auster

Family Writing Better Neurotic Feel Working

In my studio, it is unkempt and unattractive. Once I'm in my work, I don't notice where I am. Paul Auster

Work Once Unattractive Studio Am Where Notice

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