Zadie Smith Quotes & Sayings (Page 4)

“I don't keep any copies of my books in the house - they go to my mum's flat. I don't like them around.”

“I'm always a bit suspicious of writers who have the gift of the gab.”

“Your mid-thirties is a good time because you know a fair amount, you have some self-control.”

“English, as a subject, never really got over its upstart nature. It tries to bulk itself up with hopeless jargon and specious complexity, tries to imitate subjects it can never be.”

“Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay.”

“As far as I'm concerned, if you want to find out about the last day of WWII or the roots of the Indian Mutiny, get thee to a books catalogue.”

“Don't we all know why nerds do what they do? To get money, which leads to popularity, which leads to girls.”

“English fiction was something I loved growing up, and it changed my life - it changed the trajectory of my life.”

“I like books that don't give you an easy ride. I like the feeling of discomfort. The sense of being implicated.”

“I often worry that my idea of personhood is nostalgic, irrational, inaccurate.”