Quotes by Jim Butcher

Didnt you read the owners ma

It is often very useful for others to think you less intelligent than you are, Benedict said, his tone amused. It works particularly well against those who arent as intelligent as you in the first place.

Time after time, history demonstrates that when people dont want to believe something, they have enormous skills of ignoring it altogether.

Lady Placida smiled. “History seldom takes note of serendipity when it records events. And from what I have heard, I suspect an argument could be made that you very much did earn the title.”“Many women have earned titles, Your Grace. It doesnt seem to have been a factor in whether or not they actually received them.”Lady Placida laughed. “True enough. But perhaps that is beginning to change.” She offered her hands. “It is a distinct pleasure to meet you, Steadholder.

Every soul is special. They’re all beautiful. They’re all far more significant than anyone on this rock realizes. I think when people are at their best, they’re acting in accordance with their soul. The ones who have gone bad don’t have bad souls. They’ve just given up on keeping in touch with them.

Jobs are a part of life. Maybe youve heard of the concept. Its called work? See, what happens is that you suffer through doing annoying and humiliating things until you get paid not enough money. Like those Japanese game shows, only without all the glory.

When people say the word convention, they are usually referring to large gatherings of the employees of companies and corporations who attend a mass assembly, usually in a big hotel somewhere, for the purpose of pretending to learn stuff when they are in fact enjoying a free trip somewhere, time off work, and the opportunity to flirt with strangers, drink, and otherwise indulge themselves. The first major difference between a business convention and a fan-dom convention is that fandom doesn’t bother with the pretenses. They’re just there to have a good time. The second difference is the dress code— the ensembles at a fan convention tend to be considerably more novel.

Pain isn’t a lot of fun, at least not for most folks, but it is utterly unique to life. Pain — physical, emotional, and otherwise — is the shadow cast by everything you want out of life, the alternative to the result you were hoping for, and the inevitable creator of strength. From the pain of our failures we learn to be better, stronger, greater than what we were before. Pain is there to tell us when we’ve done something badly—it’s a teacher, a guide, one that is always there to both warn us of our limitations and challenge us to overcome them.For something no one likes, pain does us a whole hell of a lot of good.

Being a wizard gives you more power than most, but it doesnt change your heart. Were all human. Were all of us equally naked before the jaws of pain.

That woman, Grimm said quietly, drives me quite insane.Kettle grunted. Whyd you marry her, then?

When I started, I was pretty sure I was going to be writing some goofy little wizard novels that might make me some part-time money and would hopefully lead to something I could do better.

You need to know where to go, Sanya said.Yes,And you are going to consult four large pizzas for guidance.Yes, I said....There is, I think, humour here which does not translate well from English into sanity.Thats pretty rich coming from the agnostic Knight of the Cross with a holy Sword who takes his orders from an archangel. I said.- Harry Dresden & Sanya, Changes, Jim Butcher

Paranoia is a survival trait when you run in my circles. It gives you something to do in your spare time, coming up with solutions to ridiculous problems that arent ever going to happen. Except when one of them does, at which point you feel way too vindicated.- Harry Dresden, Changes, Jim Butcher

...The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the morgue.This, all by itself, is enough to really ruin your day.I was lying on the examining table, and Butters, complete with his surgical gown and his tray of autopsy instruments, stood over me.Im not dead! I sputtered. Im not dead!- Harry Dresden, Death Masks, Jim Butcher

Right, Thomas said. Where are we headed?To where they treat me like royalty, I said.Were going to Burger King?I rubbed the heel of my hand against my forehead and spelled fratricide in a subvocal mutter, but I had to spell out temporary insanity and justifiable homicide, too, before I calmed down enough to speak politely. Just take a left and drive. Please.Well, Thomas said, grinning, since you said please- Thomas Raith & Harry Dresden, Small Favor, Jim Butcher

Because a sound tree doesnt have bad roots, Amara. No enterprise of greatnessbegins with treachery, with lying to the people who trust and love you

My laboratory, I said, experimentally, drawing out each syllable. Why is it that saying it like that always makes me want to follow it with mwoo-hah-hah-hahhhhh? You were overexposed to Hammer Films as a child? - Harry Dresden & Bob the Skull, Changes, Jim Butcher

Rain was coming down in sheets. I could hear it, on the concrete outside and on the old building above me. It creaked and swayed in the spring thunderstorm and the wind, timbers gently flexing, wise enough with age to give a little, rather than put up stubborn resistance until they broke. I could probably stand to learn something from that.

Do you really think you can win?Yeah. Hell, Ortega is only the third or fourth most disturbing thing Ive tangled with today.But even if you do win, what does it change?Me getting kiilled now. That way, I get to be killed later tonight instead.- Susan Rodriguez & Harry Dresden, Death Masks, Jim Butcher

... They paid some madman who thought he was a decorator a lot of money to make the place look hip and unique. May be its my lack of fashion sense talking, but I thought they should have held out for one of those gorillas who has learned to paint. The results would have been of similar quality, and they could have paid in fresh produce.- Harry Dresden, Small Favor, Jim Butcher