The Last Bookshop in London Quotes

“What do you like best about reading?” His fingertips steepled together and tapped against one another as he thought. “That’s quite the question, like asking me to describe all the colors in a spinning kaleidoscope.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Reading is..." His brows knit together and then his forehead smoothed as the right words appeared to dawn on him. "It's going somewhere without ever taking a train or ship, an unveiling of new, incredible worlds. It's living a life you weren't born into and a chance to see everything colored by someone else's perspective. It's learning without having to face consequences of failures, and how best to succeed." He hesitated. "I think within all of us, there is a void, a gap waiting to be filled by something. For me, that something is books and all their proffered experiences."
Grace's heart went soft at the poetic affection with which he spoke, finding herself both envious of the books as well as the fulfillment he found in them.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“She smiled through her tears, opened her book and began to read, bringing them all along with her to a world where there were no bombs. There might be loss, and sometimes there may be fear, but there was also courage to face such challenges. For in a world such as theirs, with people of spirit and love, and with so many different tales of strength and victory to inspire, there would always be hope.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Then let me help you.” She led her to a shelf and withdrew Emma, whose humor made it a particular favorite of Grace’s. “This will have you laughing one minute and sighing wistfully the next.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“But in a world as damaged and gray as theirs was now, she would take every speck of pleasure where it could be found. And much pleasure was to be had in reading. Grace cherished the adventures she went on through those pages, an escape from exhaustion and bombs and rationing. Deeper still was the profound understanding for mankind as she lived in the minds of the characters.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“There are many voices Hitler would quiet, especially those who are Jewish.” Mr. Evans slid the new book reverently beside the others. “It is the duty of the rest of the world to ensure they will never be silenced.” He tapped a yellow spine with Almansor in gilt at its top. “‘Where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people as well.’ Heinrich Heine isn’t Jewish, but his ideals go against what Hitler believes.” Mr. Evans pushed the safe door closed with an ominous bang. “This war is about far more than blackouts and food rationing, Miss Bennett.” She swallowed. People were dying to save books, to prevent ideas and people from being snuffed out.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Word after word, page after page, she was pulled deeper into a place she had never experienced and walked in the footsteps of a person she's never been.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“What she found within was nothing like the texts she’d read in school that offered dry accounts of maths or broken down sentence structures and word formation. No, this book, when finally given the proper attention it deserved, somehow locked her in its grasp and did not once let go.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Grace cherished the adventures she went on through those pages, an escape from exhaustion and bombs and rationing. Deeper still was the profound understanding for mankind as she lived in the minds of the characters. Over time, she had found such perspectives made her a more patient person, more accepting of others. If everyone had such an appreciation for their fellow man, perhaps things such as war would not exist.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Yet through it all, she couldn’t dislodge The Count of Monte Cristo from her head. Edmond had only just crawled through the tunnel toward the abbé’s prison cell. What would he find in there? What if they were caught?”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“You can't save the world, but keep trying in any small way you can.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Deeper still was the profound understanding for mankind as she lived in the minds of the characters. Over time, she had found such perspectives made her a more patient person, more accepting of others. If everyone had such an appreciation for their fellow man, perhaps things such as war would not exist. Such considerations were easy to muse over there in a rare beam of sunlight, but far more difficult to hold tight to in the blacked-out streets of London with Mr. Stokes. The improved weather brought with it an influx of bombers who sailed easily through the clear skies to unload their destruction.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“It’s going somewhere without ever taking a train or ship, an unveiling of new, incredible worlds. It’s living a life you weren’t born into and a chance to see everything colored by someone else’s perspective. It’s learning without having to face consequences of failures, and how best to succeed.” He hesitated. “I think within all of us, there is a void, a gap waiting to be filled by something. For me, that”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“You give every part of yourself to help others. Not just with what you do with the ARP. But here”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Mr. Evans slid the new book reverently beside the others. “It is the duty of the rest of the world to ensure they will never be silenced.” He tapped a yellow spine with Almansor in gilt at its top. “‘Where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people as well.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“It’s going somewhere without ever taking a train or ship, an unveiling of new, incredible worlds. It’s living a life you weren’t born into and a chance to see everything colored by someone else’s perspective. It’s learning without having to face consequences of failures, and how best to succeed.” He hesitated. “I think within all of us, there is a void, a gap waiting to be filled by something. For me, that something is books and all their proffered experiences.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“She couldn’t wait to get to the last page to find out if Edmond had his revenge and if his life finally settled into happiness. But as much as she loved reading the story, no one had prepared her for the end being so bittersweet. No one told her finishing the book would leave her so bereft. It was as though she’d said goodbye for the last time to a close friend. When she mentioned it to Mr. Evans, he simply smiled and recommended she try another book. And so, she consoled herself with Emma, which was a most marvelous distraction.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“She made herself a cup of tea, snuggled into the Morris chair with a thick blanket over her legs and settled under the weight of The Count of Monte Cristo on her lap.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“But books served a purpose. Distractions were always needed. Most certainly in times of strife.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“The Odyssey,”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“I’m so sorry to see this. After everything you’ve done, after everything you’ve made of this shop.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“They’d been through bombings together, seen death together, saved lives together.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“There was a hopefulness to his tone Grace didn’t share.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“she”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Out there, you save lives. In here, you save souls.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“I long to be among the familiarity of Primrose Hill Books again, he’d confessed. Where the literary conversations are ubiquitous and a particularly beautiful assistant brings stories to life with her lovely voice.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“He didn’t look at her again as the fire was doused and a startling blackness took the place of those brilliant flames so fueled by hate.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“She stared at him, appalled. “These are British citizens.” “They’re Italians.” He lifted his head higher as another man exited with a sack of what might have been flour. “Most likely spies.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Reading is...” His brows knit together and then his forehead smoothed as the right words appeared to dawn”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

“Being a woman was akin to a performance with its cues and lines that needed to be learned. I knew how I was supposed to act and what I was supposed to say but I just wasn’t exactly sure if I wanted to.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London