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Top 500 Catherynne M. Valente Quotes (2026 Update)
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Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “As far as quality housemates to be found on Planet Earth, it goes: dolphins, elephants, orangutans, octopi, then every single spider, then Joan of Arc, the Dalai Lama, Mr. Rogers, Freddie Mercury, my nan, all the scorpions, German measles, a dented recycling bin, and then maybe some of the rest of us.”

301. “As far as quality housemates to be found on Planet Earth, it goes: dolphins, elephants, orangutans, octopi, then every single spider, then Joan of Arc, the Dalai Lama, Mr. Rogers, Freddie Mercury, my nan, all the scorpions, German measles, a dented recycling bin, and then maybe some of the rest of us.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “If you have ever seen a falling star, you have seen a Changeling arriving.”

302. “If you have ever seen a falling star, you have seen a Changeling arriving.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “That’s what a map is, you know. Just a memory.”

303. “That’s what a map is, you know. Just a memory.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “It was on the to-do list, but you know to-do lists. They get longer and longer until you might as well just carve the last items on your tombstone. Do the dishes.”

304. “It was on the to-do list, but you know to-do lists. They get longer and longer until you might as well just carve the last items on your tombstone. Do the dishes.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “The body does the living; the shadow does the dreaming.”

305. “The body does the living; the shadow does the dreaming.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Breakfast brought an oppressive gloom down upon my spirit. Soft-boiled eggs oozed a golden ichor of loneliness onto my spoon; the buttered rolls spoke only of the further torment of my being. Failure swirled in the milky depths of my tea and the bacon I devoured was the bacon of grief.”

306. “Breakfast brought an oppressive gloom down upon my spirit. Soft-boiled eggs oozed a golden ichor of loneliness onto my spoon; the buttered rolls spoke only of the further torment of my being. Failure swirled in the milky depths of my tea and the bacon I devoured was the bacon of grief.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Funniest thing about love, how it shakes loose when no one’s looking. How the dark helps it along. Maybe that’s why we dug caves so much, way back when.”

307. “Funniest thing about love, how it shakes loose when no one’s looking. How the dark helps it along. Maybe that’s why we dug caves so much, way back when.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “For witches, there is but one King and one Palace – the one who has wronged them, and the house in which he lives. In fairness, Kings are often quite as dense, calling themselves sacred vessels and masters of all things above and below when in fact they command a few patches of lonely dirt with even lonelier houses sitting upon them.”

308. “For witches, there is but one King and one Palace – the one who has wronged them, and the house in which he lives. In fairness, Kings are often quite as dense, calling themselves sacred vessels and masters of all things above and below when in fact they command a few patches of lonely dirt with even lonelier houses sitting upon them.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “After so long keeping to herself and tending her secret quietly, all these words just bubbled up out of her her like cool golden champagne.”

309. “After so long keeping to herself and tending her secret quietly, all these words just bubbled up out of her her like cool golden champagne.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “And the funny, impish magic of a wrap party is that everyone still has scraps of their characters hanging off them like Salome’s veils, fluttering, fading, but not quite finished tangling the tongue and tripping the feet. You’re not in Wonderland anymore, but you positively reek of rabbit.”

310. “And the funny, impish magic of a wrap party is that everyone still has scraps of their characters hanging off them like Salome’s veils, fluttering, fading, but not quite finished tangling the tongue and tripping the feet. You’re not in Wonderland anymore, but you positively reek of rabbit.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “It is unutterably boring, the multitudes in progression from innocence to inkling to knowledge to the inevitable apotheosis of desperation.”

311. “It is unutterably boring, the multitudes in progression from innocence to inkling to knowledge to the inevitable apotheosis of desperation.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Over in the refrigerated section hang lies told so long ago and so often that they turned into the truth and get taught in history books.”

312. “Over in the refrigerated section hang lies told so long ago and so often that they turned into the truth and get taught in history books.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Things that begin and end in grief: marriage, harvest, childbirth. Journeys away from home. Journeys toward home. Surgeries. Love. Weeping.”

313. “Things that begin and end in grief: marriage, harvest, childbirth. Journeys away from home. Journeys toward home. Surgeries. Love. Weeping.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “The Party is a wonderful, marvelous invention, and it has taught us wonderful, marvelous things – chiefly, that we can cause more trouble with less effort by filing complaints than by breaking teacups.”

314. “The Party is a wonderful, marvelous invention, and it has taught us wonderful, marvelous things – chiefly, that we can cause more trouble with less effort by filing complaints than by breaking teacups.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “All Librarians are members of the Catalogue. That’s what you call a coven when it’s made up of Librarians instead of witches. Librarians have sorted and alphabetized all the magic that ever thought to put a rabbit and a hat together. Who do you think invented Special Collections?”

315. “All Librarians are members of the Catalogue. That’s what you call a coven when it’s made up of Librarians instead of witches. Librarians have sorted and alphabetized all the magic that ever thought to put a rabbit and a hat together. Who do you think invented Special Collections?”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “It appeals to the higher nature of the self to put aside food which once lived – I do not consider myself food, why should I ask all other creatures to consider themselves so?”

316. “It appeals to the higher nature of the self to put aside food which once lived – I do not consider myself food, why should I ask all other creatures to consider themselves so?”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “That is what happens when a person lives alone for so long – no one else can change their ways.”

317. “That is what happens when a person lives alone for so long – no one else can change their ways.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Hats change everything. September knew this with all her being, deep in the place where she knew her own name, and that her mother would still love her even though she hadn’t waved goodbye. For one day her father had put on a hat with golden things on it and suddenly he hadn’t been her father anymore, he had been a soldier, and he had left. Hats have power. Hats can change you into someone else.”

318. “Hats change everything. September knew this with all her being, deep in the place where she knew her own name, and that her mother would still love her even though she hadn’t waved goodbye. For one day her father had put on a hat with golden things on it and suddenly he hadn’t been her father anymore, he had been a soldier, and he had left. Hats have power. Hats can change you into someone else.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “We treat our stone wives with much more care than they treat their warm ones, anyway. I personally dust mine once a week, and I know Khaamil gives them presents when I am not looking. These are yours – they are in your care, and you must be faithful.”

319. “We treat our stone wives with much more care than they treat their warm ones, anyway. I personally dust mine once a week, and I know Khaamil gives them presents when I am not looking. These are yours – they are in your care, and you must be faithful.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “But something older and wiser within her said, Some things are for hiding and for keeping.”

320. “But something older and wiser within her said, Some things are for hiding and for keeping.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “She sounds like someone who spends a lot of time in libraries, which are the best sorts of people.”

321. “She sounds like someone who spends a lot of time in libraries, which are the best sorts of people.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “There is no better teacher of rough necessity than bad luck, and you will have great use of me, I promise.”

322. “There is no better teacher of rough necessity than bad luck, and you will have great use of me, I promise.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “This is some hard-core, triple-X, keep-it-in-the-back-room-under-a-curtain, Alice in Wonderland action is what this is,” Decibel said with total delight.”

323. “This is some hard-core, triple-X, keep-it-in-the-back-room-under-a-curtain, Alice in Wonderland action is what this is,” Decibel said with total delight.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “I did not see the appeal of a wife. We had never had one before. She would not be half as interesting as our buffalo.”

324. “I did not see the appeal of a wife. We had never had one before. She would not be half as interesting as our buffalo.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “A child equals the mass of Fairyland times the speed of luck squared.”

325. “A child equals the mass of Fairyland times the speed of luck squared.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Some who deserve failure do not achieve it,” he sniffed. “Some who deserve nothing are given the world.”

326. “Some who deserve failure do not achieve it,” he sniffed. “Some who deserve nothing are given the world.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “She long ago learned that if she waited and blinked and behaved like a pupil, eventually someone would lecture her on something.”

327. “She long ago learned that if she waited and blinked and behaved like a pupil, eventually someone would lecture her on something.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “There’s more than one way between your world and ours. There’s the changeling road, and there’s the Ravishing, and there’s those that Stumble through a gap in the hedgerows or a mushroom ring or a tornado or a wardrobe full of winter coats.”

328. “There’s more than one way between your world and ours. There’s the changeling road, and there’s the Ravishing, and there’s those that Stumble through a gap in the hedgerows or a mushroom ring or a tornado or a wardrobe full of winter coats.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “And the heart of Ivan Nikolayevich broke inside the body of Marya Morevna, and the pieces of him lodged deep in her bones, and through the window, the stars watched.”

329. “And the heart of Ivan Nikolayevich broke inside the body of Marya Morevna, and the pieces of him lodged deep in her bones, and through the window, the stars watched.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Don’t worry, my little lump of rock. Everybody gets a chance to choose. Or else where would irony come from?”

330. “Don’t worry, my little lump of rock. Everybody gets a chance to choose. Or else where would irony come from?”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “We who were once living can guard you still, and love you, and keep you living safe and whole. Nothing ever truly dies.”

331. “We who were once living can guard you still, and love you, and keep you living safe and whole. Nothing ever truly dies.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “I won’t be one of the hundreds telling you that being alive flows like a story you write consciously, deliberately, full of linear narrative, foreshadowing, repetition, motifs. The emotional beats come down where they should, last as long as they should, end where they should, and that should come from somewhere real and natural, not from the tyranny of the theatre, the utter hegemony of fiction.”

332. “I won’t be one of the hundreds telling you that being alive flows like a story you write consciously, deliberately, full of linear narrative, foreshadowing, repetition, motifs. The emotional beats come down where they should, last as long as they should, end where they should, and that should come from somewhere real and natural, not from the tyranny of the theatre, the utter hegemony of fiction.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “I don’t know why you would even bring up the internet. The xeno-intelligence officer responsible for evaluating your digital communication required invasive emergency therapy after an hour’s exposure. One glance at that thing is the strongest argument possible against the sentience of humanity. I wouldn’t draw attention to it, if I were you.”

333. “I don’t know why you would even bring up the internet. The xeno-intelligence officer responsible for evaluating your digital communication required invasive emergency therapy after an hour’s exposure. One glance at that thing is the strongest argument possible against the sentience of humanity. I wouldn’t draw attention to it, if I were you.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Didn’t you know? All stepmothers are witches. It is our compensation for remaining forever an intruder in another woman’s house.”

334. “Didn’t you know? All stepmothers are witches. It is our compensation for remaining forever an intruder in another woman’s house.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “And, at night, in a narrow bed in her old room, Mary Morevna would hold Ivan tight inside of her, demanding his obedience to her, demanding that his soul be ripped out and emptied into her.”

335. “And, at night, in a narrow bed in her old room, Mary Morevna would hold Ivan tight inside of her, demanding his obedience to her, demanding that his soul be ripped out and emptied into her.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Some kinds of hurt almost feel good, you know? Familiar. Like an ugly couch in your parents’ house with the springs all bare where your daddy slapped you once for coming home late and now when you sleep on it it’s like one of those Indian fellas napping on nails but it makes you feel like you come from somewhere. Hurts like home.”

336. “Some kinds of hurt almost feel good, you know? Familiar. Like an ugly couch in your parents’ house with the springs all bare where your daddy slapped you once for coming home late and now when you sleep on it it’s like one of those Indian fellas napping on nails but it makes you feel like you come from somewhere. Hurts like home.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Monsters almost always are culture’s way of working out their fears.”

337. “Monsters almost always are culture’s way of working out their fears.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “No one belongs when they are new to this world. All children are Changelings.”

338. “No one belongs when they are new to this world. All children are Changelings.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “That’s the only way to look at things, I always say,” propounded the Duke. “Slantways, sideways, and upside down.”

339. “That’s the only way to look at things, I always say,” propounded the Duke. “Slantways, sideways, and upside down.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “I shall not be afraid of anything I haven’t even seen yet. If Fairyland-Below is a terrible place, well, I shall feel sorry for it. But it might be a wonderful place! Just because the wild striped cats don’t know what diamonds are doesn’t mean they’re vicious; it just means they have wildcat sorts of wants and wealth and ways of thinking, and perhaps I could learn them and be a little wilder and cattier and stripier myself.”

340. “I shall not be afraid of anything I haven’t even seen yet. If Fairyland-Below is a terrible place, well, I shall feel sorry for it. But it might be a wonderful place! Just because the wild striped cats don’t know what diamonds are doesn’t mean they’re vicious; it just means they have wildcat sorts of wants and wealth and ways of thinking, and perhaps I could learn them and be a little wilder and cattier and stripier myself.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “It was late spring when Marya Morevna slid her brass key into the lock of the house on Dzerzhinskaya Street, feeling it slide, too, between her own ribs, and open her like a reliquary full of old, nameless bones.”

341. “It was late spring when Marya Morevna slid her brass key into the lock of the house on Dzerzhinskaya Street, feeling it slide, too, between her own ribs, and open her like a reliquary full of old, nameless bones.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Love rarely waits for permission.”

342. “Love rarely waits for permission.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “One is always homesick for places where one came to grief.”

343. “One is always homesick for places where one came to grief.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “I’m an extra in your story. Well, you’re an extra in mine, boy.”

344. “I’m an extra in your story. Well, you’re an extra in mine, boy.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Magic is just a word for what’s left to the powerless once everyone else has eaten their fill.”

345. “Magic is just a word for what’s left to the powerless once everyone else has eaten their fill.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “She always gave the impression of having accidentally wandered in from a mad scientist’s conference, and felt rather desperate to get back.”

346. “She always gave the impression of having accidentally wandered in from a mad scientist’s conference, and felt rather desperate to get back.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Fairyland is a very Scientifick place. We subscribe to all the best journals.”

347. “Fairyland is a very Scientifick place. We subscribe to all the best journals.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “This is a very marvelous thing. A winter thing, when everything is pickled and preserved under glass. You can taste summer in this mixture, summer boiled down and soaked in brine, mummified, packed with spices to be born again on this table, in this place, in this snow.”

348. “This is a very marvelous thing. A winter thing, when everything is pickled and preserved under glass. You can taste summer in this mixture, summer boiled down and soaked in brine, mummified, packed with spices to be born again on this table, in this place, in this snow.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “Hey there,” the steely abomination said with infinite, Buddha-like compassion, “it looks like you’re trying to come to grips with the existence of events and entities far beyond your experience and, as a result, are currently undergoing a small, entirely understandable, psychological break. Would you like help?”

349. “Hey there,” the steely abomination said with infinite, Buddha-like compassion, “it looks like you’re trying to come to grips with the existence of events and entities far beyond your experience and, as a result, are currently undergoing a small, entirely understandable, psychological break. Would you like help?”

— Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quote: “You get the face you build your whole life, with work and loving and grieving and laughing and frowning.”

350. “You get the face you build your whole life, with work and loving and grieving and laughing and frowning.”

— Catherynne M. Valente

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