There’s nothing quite like getting lost in a book, and if you’ve got a book lover in your life then why not pay homage to their favourite pastime by including a book quote in their next birthday card? From book quotes that the little ones will recognise to some famous lines from the classics, we’ve rounded up all sorts of different quotes that any bookworm will appreciate.
Oh, and just one more thing before we get onto the famous book quotes – we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mention that we’ve got a wonderful range of book-themed cards too! Featuring original designs specially illustrated by our talented team of creators, take a look at a handful of them below:
Children’s book quotes
A love for reading can start at a young age, so if you know of a child that always has their nose in a book or absolutely adores dressing up for World Book Day, then one of these book quotes could be the perfect personal touch to add inside a card for them:
- “Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world.” – Roald Dahl, Matilda
- “All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.” – J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
- “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
- “People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” – A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
- “I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny.” – Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat
- “One day, you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again.” – C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- “Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”– Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit
- “I love you right up to the moon—and back.” – Sam McBratney, Guess How Much I Love You
- “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” – Roald Dahl, The Twits
- “There’s no place like home.” – L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz
And if you want even more ideas on what else you could put alongside your quote, be sure to check out our blog on what to write in a children’s birthday card. You’ll find plenty more good book quotes to include!
Romantic quotes from books
It might be that the book lover is your partner? If that is the case (and they’re a fan of romance novels), these romantic book quotes will work a treat whether inside a birthday or anniversary card:
- “I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.” – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
- “I love her, and that’s the beginning and end of everything.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
- “You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.” – Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind
- “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” – Jane Austen, Emma
- “I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.” – J.R.R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings
- “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” – Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
- “He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.” – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
- “Every great love starts with a great story…” – Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
- “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope… I have loved none but you.” –Jane Austen, Persuasion
- “I like myself better when I’m with you.” – Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
Famous quotes from classic books
There’s a reason why some books become beloved and stand the test of time, so if you know someone who enjoys the classics, why not use one of these famous book quotes as part of your card message?
- “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
- “Flirting is a woman’s trade, one must keep in practice.” – Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
- “My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people do not know.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle – a Sherlock Holmes Short Story
- “I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.” – Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
- “Perhaps one did not want to be loved as much as to be understood.” – George Orwell, 1984
- “I like good strong words that mean something.” – Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
- “Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.” – Toni Morrison, Beloved
- “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
- “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” – Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God’
Quotes from popular TikTok books
Are they absolutely obsessed with BookTok and seeing what’s the latest book going viral on social media? If this sounds like them, here are some of the best book quotes from popular TikTok books:
- “Don’t feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy.” – Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses
- “Is there anything better than iced coffee and a bookstore on a sunny day? I mean, aside from hot coffee and a bookstore on a rainy day.” – Emily Henry, Book Lovers
- “Never let anyone make you feel ordinary.” – Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
- “Real men wear floral when trespassing.” – Holly Jackson, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
- “I am made of memories.” – Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
- “She is warmth and light and air and love.” – Rebecca Yarros, Onyx Storm
- “It hurts to want it all, so many things that can’t coexist within the same life.”- Emily Henry, People We Meet on Vacation
- “To the stars who listen— and the dreams that are answered.” – Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury
- “Those are the four most beautiful words in the English language. You can go now.” – Freida McFadden, The Housemaid
- “You cannot be nothing when you are everything to someone else.” – Lauren Roberts, Reckless
Book quotes about reading
Aside from direct book quotes, there are also a lot of wonderful quotes about the act of reading itself. Below, we’ve pulled together just a few of our personal favourites:
- “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading at all.” – Oscar Wilde
- “Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.” – Barack Obama
- “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King
- “Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again.” – Louisa May Alcott
- “I guess there are never enough books.” – John Steinbeck
- “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin
- “Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea.” – Roald Dahl, Matilda
- “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges
- “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” – Toni Morrison
- “A house without books is like a room without windows.” – Horace Mann
And there we have it, a collection of quotes from books that you can dip into when you’re needing a little bit of inspiration. From deep, powerful book quotes to popular passages from the classics, jot them down in your notebook, recite them to impress your friends, or pop them in a card.
If you’re an avid reader, you might be interested in starting a reading log to keep track of all your book habits, which is actually something we’ve touched on in our blog on how to start a bullet journal.
Alternatively, if you need more message inspiration to go alongside your chosen book quote, be sure to check out the rest of our what to write guides. Over on the thortful blog you can find all sorts of fun ideas and tips related to every special occasion imaginable.
