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100 Thought-Provoking Dave Eggers Quotes

Famous As: American Writer Known for His Best Selling Memoir 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'
Born On: March 12, 1970
Born In: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Founder / Co Founder: McSweeney's, 826 Valencia, ScholarMatch
Age: 53 Years
Dave Eggers is an American author, editor, philanthropist and publisher who is renowned for his books, and literary journals. Eggers went to University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign as a student of journalism but his stint there was cut short following the death of his parents. That period in his life was the inspiration behind his book ‘A Heartbreaking Book of Staggering Genius’ that went on to become a bestseller and firmly established him as a young author to look out for. His other works include ‘The Circle’, ‘Zeitoun’, ‘What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng’ and ‘You Shall Know Our Velocity’, among others. Eggers had also written the screenplay for three movies ‘Promised Land’ being the most famous one. Eggers is also involved with 826 Valencia, a literary initiative that is aimed at helping children and teenagers to write. There is absolutely no doubt that Eggers is one of the noted intellectuals of the new millennium. In addition to the above mentioned talents, he is also a gifted orator. We have sorted some of Dave Eggers' most famous quotes from his writings and speeches. Here are some of Dave Eggers’ most famous quotes, sayings and thoughts collected from his work that would certainly appeal to curious minds.
Books have a unique way of stopping time in a particular moment and saying: Let’s not forget this.

Books have a unique way of stopping time in a particular moment and saying: Let’s not forget this.

Dave Eggers
We are unusual and tragic and alive.

We are unusual and tragic and alive.

Dave Eggers
I will not wait to love as best as I can. We thought we were young and that there would be time to love well sometime in the future. This is a terrible way to think. It is no way to live, to wait to love.

I will not wait to love as best as I can. We thought we were young and that there would be time to love well sometime in the future. This is a terrible way to think. It is no way to live, to wait to love.

Dave Eggers
But everyone disappears, no matter who loves them.

But everyone disappears, no matter who loves them.

Dave Eggers
Still though, I think if you're not self-obsessed, you're probably boring.

Still though, I think if you're not self-obsessed, you're probably boring.

Dave Eggers
All I ever wanted was to know what to do.

All I ever wanted was to know what to do.

Dave Eggers
You invite things to happen. You open the door. You inhale. And if you inhale the chaos, you give the chaos, the chaos gives back.

You invite things to happen. You open the door. You inhale. And if you inhale the chaos, you give the chaos, the chaos gives back.

Dave Eggers
We lose weeks like buttons, like pencils.

We lose weeks like buttons, like pencils.

Dave Eggers
Humans are divided between those who can still look through the eyes of youth and those who cannot.

Humans are divided between those who can still look through the eyes of youth and those who cannot.

Dave Eggers
We see the beauty within and cannot say no.

We see the beauty within and cannot say no.

Dave Eggers
His lies were so exquisite I almost wept.

His lies were so exquisite I almost wept.

Dave Eggers
The only infallible truth of our lives is that everything we love in life will be taken from us.

The only infallible truth of our lives is that everything we love in life will be taken from us.

Dave Eggers
It is no way to live, to wait to love.

It is no way to live, to wait to love.

Dave Eggers
Why do you want to be on The Real World?
-Because I want everyone to witness my youth

Why?
-Isn't it gorgeous?

Why do you want to be on The Real World? -Because I want everyone to witness my youth Why? -Isn't it gorgeous?

Dave Eggers
Once a year, she remembers that she is insignificant. Then she forgets agains, because more than she is insignificant, she is forgetful.

Once a year, she remembers that she is insignificant. Then she forgets agains, because more than she is insignificant, she is forgetful.

Dave Eggers
All we really want is for no one to have a boring life, to be impressive, so we can be impressed. ~ on the friends we choose.

All we really want is for no one to have a boring life, to be impressive, so we can be impressed. ~ on the friends we choose.

Dave Eggers
If you don't want anyone to know about your existence, you might as well kill yourself. You're taking up space, air.

If you don't want anyone to know about your existence, you might as well kill yourself. You're taking up space, air.

Dave Eggers
I hung up the phone, jubilant, and threw myself into a wall, then pretended to be getting electrocuted. I do this when I'm very happy.

I hung up the phone, jubilant, and threw myself into a wall, then pretended to be getting electrocuted. I do this when I'm very happy.

Dave Eggers
I see colors like you hear jet planes.

I see colors like you hear jet planes.

Dave Eggers
Goddamn sometimes I only want this feeling to stay and last.

Goddamn sometimes I only want this feeling to stay and last.

Dave Eggers
Why did we do that to Pluto? We had it good with Pluto.

Why did we do that to Pluto? We had it good with Pluto.

Dave Eggers
Dignity is an affectation, cute but eccentric, like learning French or collecting scarves.

Dignity is an affectation, cute but eccentric, like learning French or collecting scarves.

Dave Eggers
And there is a chance that everything we did was incorrect, but stasis is itself criminal for those with the means to move, and the means to weave communion between people.

And there is a chance that everything we did was incorrect, but stasis is itself criminal for those with the means to move, and the means to weave communion between people.

Dave Eggers
Better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb than in the middle of some ladder you don’t, right?

Better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb than in the middle of some ladder you don’t, right?

Dave Eggers
When there is pleasure, there is often abandon, and mistakes are made.

When there is pleasure, there is often abandon, and mistakes are made.

Dave Eggers
I was feeling everything too much. Everything pulled at my eyes. I spent hours floating in pools.

I was feeling everything too much. Everything pulled at my eyes. I spent hours floating in pools.

Dave Eggers
Be strong, be brave, be true. Endure.

Be strong, be brave, be true. Endure.

Dave Eggers
Thank you,

Thank you," he says. "Thank who?" "I don't know. You?" "No, not me. Jesus." "Thank you, Jesus?" "Yes, Toph, Jesus died for your Christmas fun.

Dave Eggers
I have no idea how people function without near-constant internal chaos. I'd lose my mind.

I have no idea how people function without near-constant internal chaos. I'd lose my mind.

Dave Eggers
3. There are bears and there are small dogs. Be strong like bear! If they take out your teeth, sit on the dogs. Bears always forget they can just sit on the dogs. Sit on the dogs.

3. There are bears and there are small dogs. Be strong like bear! If they take out your teeth, sit on the dogs. Bears always forget they can just sit on the dogs. Sit on the dogs.

Dave Eggers
Pain comes at me and I take it, chew it for a few minutes, and spit it back out. It's just not my thing anymore.

Pain comes at me and I take it, chew it for a few minutes, and spit it back out. It's just not my thing anymore.

Dave Eggers
Here I am Rock You Like a Hurricane.

Here I am Rock You Like a Hurricane.

Dave Eggers
How had this happened? Everyone in the world knew more than us, about everything, and this I hated then found hugely comforting.

How had this happened? Everyone in the world knew more than us, about everything, and this I hated then found hugely comforting.

Dave Eggers
It all meant something. Until it didn't.

It all meant something. Until it didn't.

Dave Eggers
Love is implicit in every connection. It should be. Thus when absent it makes us insane. (You Shall Know Our Velocity)

Love is implicit in every connection. It should be. Thus when absent it makes us insane. (You Shall Know Our Velocity)

Dave Eggers
You sit at a desk twelve hours a day and you have nothing to show for it except some numbers that won't exist or be remembered in a week. You're leaving no evidence you lived. There's no proof.

You sit at a desk twelve hours a day and you have nothing to show for it except some numbers that won't exist or be remembered in a week. You're leaving no evidence you lived. There's no proof.

Dave Eggers
This boy thinks I am not of his species, that I am some other kind of creature, one that can be crushed under the weight of a phone book.

The pain is not great, but the symbolism is disagreeable.

This boy thinks I am not of his species, that I am some other kind of creature, one that can be crushed under the weight of a phone book. The pain is not great, but the symbolism is disagreeable.

Dave Eggers
We are all feeding from each other, all the time, every day.

We are all feeding from each other, all the time, every day.

Dave Eggers
My feeling is that if you're not self-obsessed you're probably boring.

My feeling is that if you're not self-obsessed you're probably boring.

Dave Eggers
Yes, a dark time passed over this land, but now there is something like light.

Yes, a dark time passed over this land, but now there is something like light.

Dave Eggers
You can't ever guess at life, at pain. All pain is real, and all pain is personal. It's the most personal thing we have. It eats each of us differently.

You can't ever guess at life, at pain. All pain is real, and all pain is personal. It's the most personal thing we have. It eats each of us differently.

Dave Eggers
We would oppose the turning of the planet and refuse the setting of the sun.

We would oppose the turning of the planet and refuse the setting of the sun.

Dave Eggers
But what I really want is to just swim around in a warm baby pool of these friends, jump in their dry leaf pile-to rub them all over myself, without words and clothes.

But what I really want is to just swim around in a warm baby pool of these friends, jump in their dry leaf pile-to rub them all over myself, without words and clothes.

Dave Eggers
I had the sensation that I might always be running like this, that I would always have to run, and that I would always be able to run.

I had the sensation that I might always be running like this, that I would always have to run, and that I would always be able to run.

Dave Eggers
Good artists exist in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are.

Good artists exist in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are.

Dave Eggers
He must trust, and he must have faith. And so he builds, because what is building, and rebuilding and rebuilding again, but an act of faith?

He must trust, and he must have faith. And so he builds, because what is building, and rebuilding and rebuilding again, but an act of faith?

Dave Eggers
He wanted to fly in lightweight contraptions with her.

He wanted to fly in lightweight contraptions with her.

Dave Eggers
Why do we pursue information that we know will never leave our heads?

Why do we pursue information that we know will never leave our heads?

Dave Eggers
What is building, and rebuilding and rebuilding again, but an act of faith?

What is building, and rebuilding and rebuilding again, but an act of faith?

Dave Eggers
But that in any city, in any cluster of people, there a few people who are awake at this hour, who are both awake and dancing, and it’s here that we need to be.

But that in any city, in any cluster of people, there a few people who are awake at this hour, who are both awake and dancing, and it’s here that we need to be.

Dave Eggers
Every time my brain parks the car neatly in the driveway, my mouth drives through the back of the garage.

Every time my brain parks the car neatly in the driveway, my mouth drives through the back of the garage.

Dave Eggers
Morning comes like a scream through a pinhole.

Morning comes like a scream through a pinhole.

Dave Eggers
You're breaking out of character, again.

You're breaking out of character, again.

Dave Eggers
My head was a condemned church with a ceiling of bats, but I swung from this dark mood to euphoria when I thought about leaving.

My head was a condemned church with a ceiling of bats, but I swung from this dark mood to euphoria when I thought about leaving.

Dave Eggers
Maybe he was more than the sum of his broken parts.

Maybe he was more than the sum of his broken parts.

Dave Eggers
This is a terrible way to think. It is no way to live, to wait to love.

This is a terrible way to think. It is no way to live, to wait to love.

Dave Eggers
ALL THAT HAPPENS MUST BE KNOWN.

ALL THAT HAPPENS MUST BE KNOWN.

Dave Eggers
Everyone in the life before was cranky, I think, because they just wanted to know.

--After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned

Everyone in the life before was cranky, I think, because they just wanted to know. --After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned

Dave Eggers
If your hand doesn't work for it, your heart doesn't feel sorry for it.

If your hand doesn't work for it, your heart doesn't feel sorry for it.

Dave Eggers
They were so in love with the world, and so disappointed in every aspect of it.

They were so in love with the world, and so disappointed in every aspect of it.

Dave Eggers
Think too much and you know you are nothing. Think just enough and you know you are small, but important to some. That's the best you can do.

Think too much and you know you are nothing. Think just enough and you know you are small, but important to some. That's the best you can do.

Dave Eggers
It was not knowing that was the seed of madness, loneliness, suspicion, fear.

It was not knowing that was the seed of madness, loneliness, suspicion, fear.

Dave Eggers
Your life has been lived a hundred times. A thousand times. It's not all that great, really. Don't take it so seriously. Don't handle it so delicately.

Your life has been lived a hundred times. A thousand times. It's not all that great, really. Don't take it so seriously. Don't handle it so delicately.

Dave Eggers
Again the greatest use of a human was to be useful. Not to consume, not to watch, but to do something for someone else that improved their life, even for a few minutes.

Again the greatest use of a human was to be useful. Not to consume, not to watch, but to do something for someone else that improved their life, even for a few minutes.

Dave Eggers
If you think I'm annoying and preachy now, you should have known me in grade school.

If you think I'm annoying and preachy now, you should have known me in grade school.

Dave Eggers
I lost someone very close to me and afterward I believed I could have saved him had I been a better friend to him. But everyone disappears, no matter who loves them.

I lost someone very close to me and afterward I believed I could have saved him had I been a better friend to him. But everyone disappears, no matter who loves them.

Dave Eggers
My voice and movements are restricted by the things I own.

My voice and movements are restricted by the things I own.

Dave Eggers
First of all, I know it’s all people like you. And that’s what’s so scary. Individually you don’t know what you’re doing collectively.

First of all, I know it’s all people like you. And that’s what’s so scary. Individually you don’t know what you’re doing collectively.

Dave Eggers
It only takes one person, one small act of stepping from the dark to the light.

It only takes one person, one small act of stepping from the dark to the light.

Dave Eggers
Here is a drawing of a stapler:

Here is a drawing of a stapler:

Dave Eggers
We were fools and now we were driving to our deaths in a rental car. Janet Jackson was tinkling from the speakers, asking what we had done for her as of late

We were fools and now we were driving to our deaths in a rental car. Janet Jackson was tinkling from the speakers, asking what we had done for her as of late

Dave Eggers
This was a new skill she'd acquired, the ability to look, to the outside world, utterly serene and even cheerful, while, in her skull, all was chaos.

This was a new skill she'd acquired, the ability to look, to the outside world, utterly serene and even cheerful, while, in her skull, all was chaos.

Dave Eggers
Then he got more books. He saved all the books.

Then he got more books. He saved all the books.

Dave Eggers
Hello Frances, I have just been to health class, and I was wondering how your feminine parts were developing.

Hello Frances, I have just been to health class, and I was wondering how your feminine parts were developing.

Dave Eggers
No. There is no balance, and no retribution, and no rules. The rules and balances you blather about are hopeful creations of a man fearing death.

No. There is no balance, and no retribution, and no rules. The rules and balances you blather about are hopeful creations of a man fearing death.

Dave Eggers
(...) my problem with paper is that all communication dies with it. It holds no possibility of continuity.

(...) my problem with paper is that all communication dies with it. It holds no possibility of continuity.

Dave Eggers
But that's one lifetime.

But that's one lifetime." Yeah." But while doing that one I'd want to be able to have done other stuff. Whole other lives- the one where I sail-" I know, on a boat you made yourself.

Dave Eggers
You’re like part human, part rainbow.

You’re like part human, part rainbow.

Dave Eggers
The raising of a child is the building of a cathedral. You can't cut corners.

The raising of a child is the building of a cathedral. You can't cut corners.

Dave Eggers
Nothing again. No one is listening. No one is waiting to hear the kicking of a man above. It is unexpected. You have no ears for someone like me.

Nothing again. No one is listening. No one is waiting to hear the kicking of a man above. It is unexpected. You have no ears for someone like me.

Dave Eggers
She pulls away, pats me on the shoulder with three mini-pats, like those used to pet reptiles.

She pulls away, pats me on the shoulder with three mini-pats, like those used to pet reptiles.

Dave Eggers
When we pass by another person without telling them we love them it’s cruel and wrong and we all know this.

When we pass by another person without telling them we love them it’s cruel and wrong and we all know this.

Dave Eggers
There has not been a beautiful death in the history of mankind.

There has not been a beautiful death in the history of mankind.

Dave Eggers
I am too fucking fragile. I hate being fragile.

I am too fucking fragile. I hate being fragile.

Dave Eggers
She felt some measure of relief knowing that in the very least, on the open road she would have some time to think.

She felt some measure of relief knowing that in the very least, on the open road she would have some time to think.

Dave Eggers
The air is like being wanted, we say, and they nod approvingly. The air is like getting older, they say, and they touch our arms gently.

The air is like being wanted, we say, and they nod approvingly. The air is like getting older, they say, and they touch our arms gently.

Dave Eggers
Recently, I've discovered Radiohead and find them to be quite good. So clearly, I'm some kind of musical retard. (Jonathan Ames, Middle-American Gothic)

Recently, I've discovered Radiohead and find them to be quite good. So clearly, I'm some kind of musical retard. (Jonathan Ames, Middle-American Gothic)

Dave Eggers
I am the Olympics.

I am the Olympics.

Dave Eggers
The issue is complex, but like many matters in Sudan, it is not as complex as Khartoum would want the west to believe.

The issue is complex, but like many matters in Sudan, it is not as complex as Khartoum would want the west to believe.

Dave Eggers
The peculiar problem of constant connectivity: any silence of more than a few hours provokes apocalyptic thoughts.

The peculiar problem of constant connectivity: any silence of more than a few hours provokes apocalyptic thoughts.

Dave Eggers
Stasis is itself criminal for those with the means to move.

Stasis is itself criminal for those with the means to move.

Dave Eggers
I often cannot believe the things I do.

I often cannot believe the things I do.

Dave Eggers
SECRETS ARE LIES SHARING IS CARING PRIVACY IS THEFT

SECRETS ARE LIES SHARING IS CARING PRIVACY IS THEFT

Dave Eggers
There is no faith like the faith of a builder of homes in coastal Louisiana

There is no faith like the faith of a builder of homes in coastal Louisiana

Dave Eggers
The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard.

The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard.

Dave Eggers
People don't like to be kept away from what they want. Especially when it appears within their reach. It makes one doubly angry.

People don't like to be kept away from what they want. Especially when it appears within their reach. It makes one doubly angry.

Dave Eggers
But without William K, I would have forgotten that I had not been born on this journey. That I had lived before this.

But without William K, I would have forgotten that I had not been born on this journey. That I had lived before this.

Dave Eggers
The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard. It shifts and our cities fall; it sighs and the coasts are overtaken.

The Earth is an animal that shakes off its fleas when they dig too deep, bite too hard. It shifts and our cities fall; it sighs and the coasts are overtaken.

Dave Eggers
It was as if, for a moment, she thought Mae was one kind of person, but now, knowing she was another, she could part with her, she could give her back to the world.

It was as if, for a moment, she thought Mae was one kind of person, but now, knowing she was another, she could part with her, she could give her back to the world.

Dave Eggers
Suffering is only suffering if it's done in silence, in solitude. Pain experienced in public, in view of loving millions, was no longer pain. It was communion.

Suffering is only suffering if it's done in silence, in solitude. Pain experienced in public, in view of loving millions, was no longer pain. It was communion.

Dave Eggers