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Paul Theroux Quotes

Sometimes people read a book in order to not go on a trip. You read a book instead of going on the trip. And so the travel writer is doing the traveling for you Picture Quote #1

The long morning shadows lay as still and dark as lakes and patterned the rough ground with straight margins Picture Quote #1

Although I’m not fluent in sign language by a long way, I could have a fairly decent conversation Picture Quote #1

You must not judge people by their country. In South America, it is always wise to judge people by their altitude Picture Quote #1

The Colombians are good-tempered people. They are used to waiting for buses that are late, used to riding buses and trains that do not arrive Picture Quote #1

I can’t predict how reading habits will change. But I will say that the greatest loss is the paper archive - no more a great stack of manuscripts, letters, and notebooks from a writer’s life, but only a tiny pile of disks, little plastic cookies where once were calligraphic marvels Picture Quote #1

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Many aspects of the writing life have changed since I published my first book, in the 1960s. It is more corporate, more driven by profits and marketing, and generally less congenial - but my day is the same: get out of bed, procrastinate, sit down at my desk, try to write something Picture Quote #1

When I was in the Peace Corps I never made a phone call. I was in Central Africa; I didn’t make a phone call for two years. I was in Uganda for another four years and I didn’t make a phone call. So for six years I didn’t make a phone call, but I wrote letters, I wrote short stories, I wrote books Picture Quote #1

All travel is circular. I had been jerked through Asia, making a parabola on one of the planet’s hemispheres. After all, the grand tour is just the inspired man’s way of heading home Picture Quote #1

My love for traveling to islands amounts to a pathological condition known as nesomania, an obsession with islands. This craze seems reasonable to me, because islands are small self-contained worlds that can help us understand larger ones Picture Quote #1

When I started writing, I did have some idealised notion of my dad as a writer. But I have less and less of a literary rivalry with him as I’ve gone on. I certainly don’t feel I need his approval, although maybe that’s because I’m confident that I’ve got it Picture Quote #1

When I write about my childhood I think, oh my God, how did I ever get from there to here? Not that any great thing has happened to me. But I felt so tiny, so lost Picture Quote #1

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Writers are painful friends, and they are seldom friendly with others. They are insecure in the presence of other writers. Composers of certain kinds of music are the same--tormented and intolerant. Yet some arts not only make the artist social but make him depend upon sociability in order to succeed. Painting is one Picture Quote #1

I’m not pessimistic about Africa. The cities just seem big and hopeless. But there’s still a great green heart where there’s possibility. There’s hope in the wilderness Picture Quote #1

The difference between travel writing as fiction is the difference between recording what the eye sees and discovering what the imagination knows. Fiction is pure joy - how sad that I could not reinvent the trip as fiction Picture Quote #1

Maine is a joy in the summer. But the soul of Maine is more apparent in the winter Picture Quote #1

Tourists who go to Africa have more of a traditional experience than Africans do. A tourist goes on safari; Africans don’t Picture Quote #1

To a lot of Africans, seeing an animal is a something of a rarity. So it’s a paradox of this sort of parallel life. A safari is an expensive experience and it’s adjacent to a place where people are having a very tough time Picture Quote #1

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I don’t look down on tourism. I live in Hawaii where we have 7 million visitors a year. If they weren’t there, there would be no economy. So I understand why a tourist economy is necessary Picture Quote #1

I never stay with people and I never look people up when I travel. I depend more on just chance meetings. The advantage is that people don’t know who I am. I meet people casually and they’re not doing me a big favor because I’m going to write something Picture Quote #1

Albania in 1994 was the strangest place I’ve ever seen. It was like walking into the looking glass: falling apart, paranoid people, anarchy, no one farming, full of thieves. It was beyond any Third World country. They were living in their own private nightmare Picture Quote #1

Travel is about failure or overcoming obstacles, overcoming failures. When a traveler is having lots of good luck, that is not a happy book. That’s a book you say, well, I don’t need that. I want a life lesson. I want to find out - I want a journey that reflects my life Picture Quote #1

Travel books are all sorts - some are autobiographies, some are about falling in love. Some are about having great meals, some are about suffering. There are as many different kinds of travel books as there are novels. People think a travel book is one thing. It’s many things Picture Quote #1

My record was so bad that I was first rejected by the Peace Corps as a poor risk and possible troublemaker and was accepted as a volunteer only after a great deal of explaining and arguing Picture Quote #1

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To me, writing is a considered act. It’s something which is a great labor of thought and consideration Picture Quote #1

Loneliness in travel directs you and tells you about yourself. You don’t become lonely unless you’re alone Picture Quote #1

I should start by saying that traveling in the States is a bit like traveling in Asia. You need it, it helps to have an introduction - that there is a certain network Picture Quote #1

If you look at a map, you see that Hawaii is in the middle of nowhere. It’s 17 hours of straight flying from London. It’s very far away, and sometimes you feel as if you’re on another planet. But I like that. Also, that’s ideal for writing Picture Quote #1

I was raised in a large family. The first reason for my travel was to get away from my family. I knew that I wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t want people to ask me questions about it Picture Quote #1

Going slowly [...] was the best way of being reminded that there is a relationship between Here and There, and that travel narrative was the story of There and Back Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

Sometimes people read a book in order to not go on a trip. You read a book instead of going on the trip. And so the travel writer is doing the traveling for you (Paul Theroux Quotes) The long morning shadows lay as still and dark as lakes and patterned the rough ground with straight margins (Paul Theroux Quotes) Although I’m not fluent in sign language by a long way, I could have a fairly decent conversation (Paul Theroux Quotes) You must not judge people by their country. In South America, it is always wise to judge people by their altitude (Paul Theroux Quotes) The Colombians are good-tempered people. They are used to waiting for buses that are late, used to riding buses and trains that do not arrive (Paul Theroux Quotes) I can’t predict how reading habits will change. But I will say that the greatest loss is the paper archive - no more a great stack of manuscripts, letters, and notebooks from a writer’s life, but only a tiny pile of disks, little plastic cookies where once were calligraphic marvels (Paul Theroux Quotes) Many aspects of the writing life have changed since I published my first book, in the 1960s. It is more corporate, more driven by profits and marketing, and generally less congenial - but my day is the same: get out of bed, procrastinate, sit down at my desk, try to write something (Paul Theroux Quotes) When I was in the Peace Corps I never made a phone call. I was in Central Africa; I didn’t make a phone call for two years. I was in Uganda for another four years and I didn’t make a phone call. So for six years I didn’t make a phone call, but I wrote letters, I wrote short stories, I wrote books (Paul Theroux Quotes) All travel is circular. I had been jerked through Asia, making a parabola on one of the planet’s hemispheres. After all, the grand tour is just the inspired man’s way of heading home (Paul Theroux Quotes) My love for traveling to islands amounts to a pathological condition known as nesomania, an obsession with islands. This craze seems reasonable to me, because islands are small self-contained worlds that can help us understand larger ones (Paul Theroux Quotes) When I started writing, I did have some idealised notion of my dad as a writer. But I have less and less of a literary rivalry with him as I’ve gone on. I certainly don’t feel I need his approval, although maybe that’s because I’m confident that I’ve got it (Paul Theroux Quotes) When I write about my childhood I think, oh my God, how did I ever get from there to here? Not that any great thing has happened to me. But I felt so tiny, so lost (Paul Theroux Quotes) Writers are painful friends, and they are seldom friendly with others. They are insecure in the presence of other writers. Composers of certain kinds of music are the same--tormented and intolerant. Yet some arts not only make the artist social but make him depend upon sociability in order to succeed. Painting is one (Paul Theroux Quotes) I’m not pessimistic about Africa. The cities just seem big and hopeless. But there’s still a great green heart where there’s possibility. There’s hope in the wilderness (Paul Theroux Quotes) The difference between travel writing as fiction is the difference between recording what the eye sees and discovering what the imagination knows. Fiction is pure joy - how sad that I could not reinvent the trip as fiction (Paul Theroux Quotes) Maine is a joy in the summer. But the soul of Maine is more apparent in the winter (Paul Theroux Quotes) Tourists who go to Africa have more of a traditional experience than Africans do. A tourist goes on safari; Africans don’t (Paul Theroux Quotes) To a lot of Africans, seeing an animal is a something of a rarity. So it’s a paradox of this sort of parallel life. A safari is an expensive experience and it’s adjacent to a place where people are having a very tough time (Paul Theroux Quotes) I don’t look down on tourism. I live in Hawaii where we have 7 million visitors a year. If they weren’t there, there would be no economy. So I understand why a tourist economy is necessary (Paul Theroux Quotes) I never stay with people and I never look people up when I travel. I depend more on just chance meetings. The advantage is that people don’t know who I am. I meet people casually and they’re not doing me a big favor because I’m going to write something (Paul Theroux Quotes) Albania in 1994 was the strangest place I’ve ever seen. It was like walking into the looking glass: falling apart, paranoid people, anarchy, no one farming, full of thieves. It was beyond any Third World country. They were living in their own private nightmare (Paul Theroux Quotes) Travel is about failure or overcoming obstacles, overcoming failures. When a traveler is having lots of good luck, that is not a happy book. That’s a book you say, well, I don’t need that. I want a life lesson. I want to find out - I want a journey that reflects my life (Paul Theroux Quotes) Travel books are all sorts - some are autobiographies, some are about falling in love. Some are about having great meals, some are about suffering. There are as many different kinds of travel books as there are novels. People think a travel book is one thing. It’s many things (Paul Theroux Quotes) My record was so bad that I was first rejected by the Peace Corps as a poor risk and possible troublemaker and was accepted as a volunteer only after a great deal of explaining and arguing (Paul Theroux Quotes) To me, writing is a considered act. It’s something which is a great labor of thought and consideration (Paul Theroux Quotes) Loneliness in travel directs you and tells you about yourself. You don’t become lonely unless you’re alone. (Paul Theroux Quotes) I should start by saying that traveling in the States is a bit like traveling in Asia. You need it, it helps to have an introduction - that there is a certain network. (Paul Theroux Quotes) If you look at a map, you see that Hawaii is in the middle of nowhere. It’s 17 hours of straight flying from London. It’s very far away, and sometimes you feel as if you’re on another planet. But I like that. Also, that’s ideal for writing. (Paul Theroux Quotes) I was raised in a large family. The first reason for my travel was to get away from my family. I knew that I wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t want people to ask me questions about it. (Paul Theroux Quotes) Going slowly [...] was the best way of being reminded that there is a relationship between Here and There, and that travel narrative was the story of There and Back. (Paul Theroux Quotes)

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