I’m so excited to be sharing my favorite quotes from the books that I read again this year!
For the last five years, I’ve posted lists of my favorite book quotes. Feel free to check out the previous years below:
- My Favorite Book Quotes of 2017
- My Favorite Book Quotes of 2018
- My Favorite Book Quotes of 2019
- My Favorite Book Quotes of 2020
- My Favorite Book Quotes of 2021
Let’s dive in to my list for this year!
My Favorite Quotes from 2022
The biggest pain in the ass about hindsight is realizing how clueless you are, walking through life, bumping into everything, and always avoiding catastrophe by millimeters. Well, you don’t always avoid it. Sometimes it hits you dead on. Sometimes it hits you more than once.
— YOU’RE DYING UP THERE – Somer Canon (From SLASH-HER Anthology)
He follows me. Not like a puppy, because puppies are fucking cute and who wouldn’t want one ambling after them, all big paws and ears? No, this guy follows me like a strip of toilet paper, soiled and embarrassing and bizarrely hard to shake.
— HOOKING UP – Laurel Hightower (From SLASH-HER Anthology)
The interior of the hospital was like a setting for a demented dream. Old fashioned relics and artifacts of a time gone by sat in every crevice of every room and hallway, all covered in dead flies and dust. Metal trolleys with torn tablet boxes in their compartments beside stairwells, bed frames with mouldy mattresses occupied empty wards, and small storage cupboards here and there were filled with broken mops and half-disintegrated rubber gloves.
— The Hand That Pulls You Under — Tales of Absurdity and Lunacy by James Flynn
From baby teeth to virginity, to live is to regularly suffer loss.
— We Can Never Leave This Place by Eric LaRocca
Squaring her shoulders, Aileen picked up her detailed list. Lists could always be counted upon.
— When Murder Comes Home (Aileen and Callan Murder Mysteries Book 1) by Shana Frost
Let’s make one thing absolutely clear here: men can cry. If anyone disagrees with this, they need to drop all that toxic masculinity bullshit and woman up, or fuck off. I don’t mind which.
— Baggage by Simon Paul Wilson & Matt Wildasin
I made her promise to keep an eye out for anything that might touch me, so she saw this stick and tried to tell me. ‘Watch out for’ was as far as she got—as soon as she said anything I screamed and levitated out of there. I swear I ran on the surface, which leads me to believe maybe Jesus was also terrified of water.
— Below by Laurel Hightower
But life as a woman merits a content warning. Our experience in life can often be, yes, triggering. We attempt to pacify the monsters, manager their fragile egos for our own safety.
— Asylum Daughter by Natasha Sinclair
We were going through hell and we, like it or not, had to keep going.
— Wicked Blood by E.C. Hanson
Reality is whatever our individual brains perceive it to be. Sometimes the details line up with others and sometimes they take a different path. In the end, they’re all heading for the same finish like, anyway.
— Maggots Screaming! by Max Booth III
Change – sometimes it snuck up on you. Sometimes the loss and gain of something unique changed you, like waves lapping at a boat, slowly drifting off course.
— When Old Fires Ignite by Shana Frost
“The ability of your species to hate is breathtaking.”
— The Workshop of Filthy Creation by Richard Gadz
Screams multiplied until there were fewer of them to be heard.
— Sickness Is In Season by Aiden Merchant
“Life calls for many sacrifices, but a dream should not be one of them.”
— Cover Art by Vanessa Westermann
The door on my rusted Toyota squeals like a squirrel who’s just been informed he has a nut allergy.
— See No Evil by J.P. Choquette
“Small-town gossip is a beast that will chew you up and spit you out before you even realize it has you in it’s mouth.”
— The Unknown Man by Natalie Hanson
Vijay set a tall, colorful beverage on the table in front of the girl.
“Ooh, what’s this?” she asked.
“A zombie,” he said, suppressing a grin.
“Dude!” said Katya, receiving her jet pilot. Vijay sat down with his lager.
“Nice,” said Possibly-Bella. “Liquid cannibalism.”
— Rose by Mike Bryant
Soup is such a comforting dish. Warm, savory, and when done just right, a true meal on its own that can make one forget the troubles of the day. It is a truly relaxing culinary experience. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: Did this story just start by praising soup?
— Horrors Untold: Volume 5 by Matt Wildasin
It caught a woman square in her chest. Her entire body exploded, as if she has been made of paper – paper filled with a copious amount of red Jell-O.
— To the Devil, a Cryptid by Hunter Shea
What he thought he knew about the world, and what he had just faced, were two very different things.
— The Easton Falls Massacre: Bigfoot’s Revenge by Holly Rae Garcia and Ryan Prentice Garcia
Yes, camping, like any other getaway, provides an escape from daily life. But it also provides an escape from the safety of daily life. The protection of one’s house or flat is now gone. You are exposed, not just to the elements, but also to whatever creatures may be lurking nearby. Not to mention the most dangerous monsters of all – other people.
— Four by P.J. Blakey-Novis
Manners cost nothing, but a lack of them can be deadly.
— Home & Other Stories by P.J. Blakey-Novis
“We have to be dreaming. Otherwise, what the fuck is going on? This shit doesn’t happen in real life. We don’t live in a goddamn Wes Craven movie,” said Jason, shaking his head and standing up.
— Parachute by Holly Rae Garcia
I’m all in favor of people turning over new leaves, but they need to remember to mulch around the roots of their old sins first, and to pull up the weeds and make whatever repairs they can to the people they’ve damaged.
— Copperhead by Mo Donovan, story from the H is for Hell Anthology edited by P.J. Blakey-Novis
“Life throws you curveballs all the time; it’s up to you whether you’re going to be tough enough to hit them.”
— Shades of the Black Stone by Wile E. Young
Martin, who instinctively clung to the seat for dear life, froze in his chair not moving a muscle, as if it would render him invisible to her. A little trick that he picked up from Alan Grant in Jurassic Park.
— Edge of Twilight by Matt Wildasin
She forced herself to move steadily when every pore of her being screamed at her to run. The visitors had recovered and were now chatting excitedly among themselves, moving slowly. Oh, so slowly. Behind them the banging had become an incessant loud thumping. At any minute, it sounded as if the boards would give way and something would crash through and into the Close. Hannah dreaded what that something might be.
— The Haunting of Henderson Close by Catherine Cavendish
He hit their mother, and he hit them, not because he was strong, but because he wasn’t. No one who is strong hits a child.
— Hide by Kiersten White
The floor is black marble, so polished they can see themselves in it. The walls and the furniture are pristine white. The kind of white that screams Don’t touch me to people like Mack. The kind of white that purrs You deserve me to people like Rebecca.
— Hide by Kiersten White
You can only do three things with danger: run away from it, fight it, or make friends with it. I don’t know which one to do.
— Sundial by Catriona Ward
Rumors flow like wasps through the camp, each story more outrageous than the last. It was impossible to know what was true with all the lies, many of them coming from the guards.
— The Fervor by Alma Katsu
Below the ‘phone numbers’ header on the torn page, she drew the familiar pattern, joining the vertical lines in blue ballpoint to produce the pointed outline of Cool S. Just like riding a bike: you never forget. It’s like we were all born knowing it. It coiled there on the paper like a snake, head hidden so you didn’t know where the strike would come from.
— Cool S by Die Booth
Halfway down the stone pier, I see Agnet coming the other way. I could no more stop the smile on my face than I could stop the sun from going down.
— Lure by Tim McGregor
The candle dispelled the uncertainty of the darkness… but, unfortunately, not the uncertainty of the unknown.
— Haunt of Southern-Fried Fear by Ronald Kelly
“…Think of people like a deep, dark lake. You see the surface and maybe it’s reflecting its surroundings and you assume that because it is a lake with a clear and still surface you know it’s only water, but that’s not at all true, is it? No. Beneath that calm exterior things are swimming and there’s movement and darkness and life. Beneath that quaint reflection is a lot more that you can’t see. Every now and then a ripple from underneath disturbs that calm surface, but it’s usually no more than a ripple that you get to see. We’re all deep lakes. We’re all hiding things beneath the surface.”
— You’re Mine by Somer Canon
“…Do not let bitterness twist your heart into something unrecognizable.”
— Those Who Came Before by J.H. Moncrieff
Heat like this, dehydration was going to be on them quicker than a fart through an asshole.
— Swamp Monster Massacre by Hunter Shea
The pain was gone but I still felt… itchy. How the fuck do you scratch a tooth?
— Tooth Worms by Lor Gislason
Fear really brings out the true monster in all of us.
— It Came From The Sea by Matt Wildasin
If there was ever a night she needed to be alone with a warm bath and some pizza, this was it.
— Dragonfly Summer by J.H. Moncrieff
The forest was gloomy, but the summer sun regularly pierced the thick canopy, lancing down to the leaf litter in bright shards alive with dust motes and floating pollen. Low, twisting vines and dark green ground cover swarmed over thick roots that made walking a treacherous effort if he stopped paying attention.
— Sallow Bend by Alan Baxter
Humans were as strange and contradictory as butter and bruises.
— When Distilled From Rage (Aileen and Callan Murder Mysteries Book 6) by Shana Frost
There were three veterans at that table, battle-scarred soldiers who had served their countries honorably in more than one war . . . and all three of us screamed like small children and recoiled in horror.
— What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher
Stuffed animals are the keepers of childhood, protecting people from the barrage of reality, waxing nostalgic about that security years later.
— Lessons In Demoralization by Nikki R. Leigh
George and Merella ambled across the packed sand, conversing in stolen glances and flickering smiles that said everything.
— Come and Take My Hand by Brennan LaFaro
The street begged for a healthy dose of rain to wash away the blood, bone, brains, and hate spilled that day, but this was Buzzard’s Edge. Even in the best part of town, the sand would drink the blood and unloved creatures would dispose of the rest when darkness fell. Except for the hate. That would stay indefinitely.
— Noose by Brennan LaFaro
There was something standing in the way of her memory, like a curtain, hiding whatever stood on the other side.
— The Deep by Alma Katsu
She turned to face him. There was not a shred of humanity there. A soulless monster walking around in a human suit. Something inside her – fear – spiked.
— Red Widow by Alma Katsu
It started with a splash of crimson blood on snow.
— The Wehrwolf by Alma Katsu
In Puerto Rico they could be outside without the fear of a rogue bullet tearing through the air searching for a target.
— We Came From An Island by Cynthia Pelayo
For an instant, his eyes flashed back to the sparkling blue she knew so well, and she knew she was home. Wherever this was, it was home.
— The Doors of Chamberlain by Steve L. Clark
It became a joke, almost. The creepy door, that no amount of oil or hinge tinkering could ease the creak out of. It was as if it was trying to be eerie, in an almost sentient way.
— 365 Lies by Die Booth
The machine has pushed innards out of her chest like toothpaste.
— Inside Out by Lor Gislason
The hand that once held him down now lightly patted him on the shoulder. “Live like a shithead, die like a shithead.”
— They Mostly Come At Night by Wesley Southard
A nice cup of tea, I think. Then there’s work to do.
— The Crow Witch and Other Conjurings by Catherine Cavendish
Shadows shrouded every corner.
One moved.
— The Crow Witch and Other Conjurings by Catherine Cavendish
And with a grin cold enough to freeze saltwater, one of the men pulled out a revolver and fired it at me.
— The Dismembered by Jonathan Janz
Compassion, like everything else, can be worn dull by rough use.
— Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned the television off when something caught his eye. As the screen went blank, Todd could see the reflection of a figure standing behind him at the couch.
— The Cursed Among Us by John Durgin
And while Sylvie had a bad habit of extending poison ivy disguised as olive branches, Miller had a worse habit of accepting them.
— This is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau
Plastic bags rustled in the wind, crashing into a ghost-town, crumbling under the weight of unrest as they raged on like miniature thunderstorms in an otherwise silent street.
— Disingenuous Solace Volume 1 by Ronaldo Katwaroo
Grief changes shape but it doesn’t go away. It’s not something you endure until you get to the other side. I’ve learned that there is no other side, no mystical place or state of mind where everything’s okay again. There’s just adjustment and acceptance. It alters your very soul.
— Arid by Anne Joyce
The searing agony in his neck continued to intensify. It almost felt as though his head was attempting to pull itself from his body. But that was utter nonsense, wasn’t it? He knew at once that it was not as the tendons in his neck began to snap, one by one.
— Somewhere South of Hell – Book 2 by Ronald Kelly
Theresa had hated the darkness… feared it more than anything else in her young life. It smothered her like a cold, wet blanket; clinging to her, molding itself around her small body like a cocoon.
Even semi-darkness frightened her. In a way, it was even worse. The pits of blackness between patches of light were even more deceiving and treacherous. For it was within those inky pits that things lingered, unseen. They thought they were safe in their concealment, but they didn’t fool her.
— Somewhere South of Hell – Book 3 by Ronald Kelly
Far-sea fishermen had warned us with fanciful tales of night beasts who took to the sky, blotting out the stars, muting both moons and all their brightness and all in order to hunt. They did not rest once the sun was eaten by the horizon. The night was theirs and everything that dared to cut through the ocean’s surface.
— Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn
I feel strong by the end of that year, I am healed. But I don’t realize that healing requires scars, and I am still rough beneath them, I still have pain locked behind that ropy skin. And there is weakness there, there is vulnerability, a thing I have always been terrified of.
— White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
Angie fought against her paralyzing fear and tried to comprehend what Paula said. She stared at the burning tree and realized Paula was right. No smoke rose into the air. She inhaled deeply. No smell of burning wood or leaves either. The flames crawled through the branches with unnatural slowness. The colors were wrong. Everything was wrong.
— Down Home by Steve L. Clark
They—whoever the fuck they is—always say you’ll never look back from the view on your deathbed and wish you spent more time at the office. It’s a weird sentiment because no one needs to think twice before agreeing with it. No shit, of course family is more important than work. And yet, we subconsciously prioritize it on a regular basis. All those small choices group together, adding up in a nearly imperceptible way. We go in fifteen minutes early. We stay fifteen minutes late.
— Decimated Dreams by Brennan LaFaro
Stories have power. You don’t need to be a reader to believe that.
— Decimated Dreams by Brennan LaFaro
That was the problem with scared people. Ultimately, they became more dangerous than the thing they were afraid of.
— A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor
Fennus always found ways to make her feel less-than with the barest twist of inflection or a carefully chosen word slipped like a knife between the ribs, so sharp you didn’t notice the wound until you looked up from a lapful of blood.
— Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
And the snow, unperturbed by this turn of events, continued to fall outside.
— Christmas at Wheeldale Inn by Gemma Amor
Each footstep felt like cannon fire in the silence.
— Dan and Andy’s Scary-oke Holiday by Katherine Silva
I can’t undo what’s been done, but I can try to figure out a way to live with it. To harness it. Find some control.
— Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison
Thanks for reading!
Did you have any favorite quotes from the books you read in 2022?
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