Top 500 James Patterson Quotes (2025 Update)
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101. “I don’t smile as much as I should, even though I smile inside a lot.”

— James Patterson

102. “You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met, and sometimes it seems like your sole purpose in life is to make mine harder, but I swear, I love you more than I thought I could love anyone.”

— James Patterson

103. “Congratulations. The fact that you’re reading this means you’ve taken one giant step closer to surviving until your next birthday.”

— James Patterson

104. “What are we but our stories?”

— James Patterson

105. “Between Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, and Dorothy Parker, everything worth saying has already been said, and said better than i could ever say it.”

— James Patterson

106. “A friend of mine once defined love as finding someone you can talk to late into the night.”

— James Patterson

107. “You’re lucky if you find something you like to do, and it’s a miracle if somebody will pay you to do it.”

— James Patterson

108. “Always expect the unexpected. Right around Thanksgiving, when the new Alex Cross will be out. It’s called Four Blind Mice and it’s a pretty amazing story about several murders inside the military.”

— James Patterson

109. “Dreams die hard. And sometimes they don’t have to die at all.”

— James Patterson

110. “There’s nothing more dangerous than than someone trying to act for the greater good.”

— James Patterson

111. “I muttered a swear word to myself. After I heard Angel cussing like a sailor when she stubbed her toe, my new resolution was to watch my language. All I needed was a six-year-old mutant with a potty mouth.”

— James Patterson

112. “We are the sum of our thoughts. What you choose to dwell on will dictate your emotions.”

— James Patterson

113. “Congratulations. The fact that you’re reading this means you’ve taken one giant step closer to surviving till your next birthday. Yes, you, standing there leafing through these pages. Do not put this book down. I’m dead serious – your life could depend on it.”

— James Patterson

114. “It was so cold outside that a lawyer would have his hands in his own pockets.”

— James Patterson

115. “We’re all on death row, ultimately. Are you so stupid that don’t see that? Sure, you kids in here, as enemies of the system, will assuredly die earlier than most. As well you should. But all of us everywhere have a one-way ticket to death.”

— James Patterson

116. “Sometimes a happy delusion is better than grim reality.”

— James Patterson

117. “Life can be like walking on a high wire. Falling seems a tiny misstep away.”

— James Patterson

118. “Just because life is hard, and always ends in a bad way, doesn’t mean that all stories have to, even if that’s what they tell us in school and in the New York Times Review. In fact, it’s a good thing that stories are as different as we are, one from another.”

— James Patterson

119. “They call me, The Sharkalator.”

— James Patterson

120. “They’re afraid of change, and we must change. They’re afraid of the young, and we are the young. They’re afraid of music, and music is our life. They’re afraid of books, and knowledge, and ideas. They’re most afraid of our magic.”

— James Patterson

121. “I think sometimes we give people a lot of credit just because they’re writing nice sentences even if it isn’t adding up to much.”

— James Patterson

122. “My life would never contain a convenient, pain-saving plan when it could stretch a problem out into an endless agony of uncertainty and torture.”

— James Patterson

123. “Sundown had bloodied the horizon over the uneven rooftops of South Boston. Birds were perched on every roof and seemed to be watching the girl walking slowly below. – Cradle and All.”

— James Patterson

124. “It gets so tiring, this strong-picking-on-the-weak stuff. It was the story of my life -literally- and it seemed to be a big part of the outside world too. I was sick of it, sick of guys like these, stupid and bullying.”

— James Patterson

125. “There comes a point in everybody’s life when you realize the stakes have suddenly changed. The carefree ride of your life slams into a stone wall; all those years of merely bouncing along, life taking you where you want to go, abruptly end.”

— James Patterson

126. “It’s better to care too much than too little. Every single time.”

— James Patterson

127. “The best way to get kids reading more is to give them books that they’ll gobble up – and that will make them ask for another.”

— James Patterson

128. “The most striking thing about beautiful churches, to me, is that they were mostly designed by people who were inspired by a belief in something larger and more important than themselves, and this is how I try to lead my own life.”

— James Patterson

129. “They turned to Angel. “We will call you Little One,” the leader said, obviously deciding to dispense with the whole confusing name thing. “Okay,” said Angel agreeably. “I’ll call you Guy in a White Lab Coat.” He frowned. “That can be his Indian name,” I suggested.”

— James Patterson

130. “You know how most people dread a birthday... Well, I feel the exact opposite. I feel that every day is an extraordinary gift. Just to be here, and especially to be here with you.”

— James Patterson

131. “That’s right: Never underestimate the power of a good laugh. It can stop some of the fiercest middle-school monsters.”

— James Patterson

132. “I love you. I love your smile, your snarl, your grin, your face when you’re sleeping.”

— James Patterson

133. “Dr. Martinez: “I take it you don’t want me to call your parent?” Max: “Uh, no.” Hello, lab? May I speak to the test tube please?”

— James Patterson

134. “Mirror, mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all.”

— James Patterson

135. “The hardest mysteries to solve are the ones you come to near the end, because there isn’t enough evidence, not enough to unravel, unless somehow you can go all the way back to the beginning – rewind and replay everything.”

— James Patterson

136. “Anger, hatred, and bitterness are lethal poisons. They cause a slow, painful emotional death that only you suffer. Self-destruction will never defeat an enemy or create justice.”

— James Patterson

137. “My mom had a soft heart after all! Instead of being chained by both wrists, we were only chained by one ankle! I mean, if I’d been looking for proof that she really did love me, this was it, right?”

— James Patterson

138. “Fang, fang. I love you. I looooove you. I love you thiiiiiiiiiis much!”

— James Patterson

139. “It was a little weird that they were friends. But then, maybe freaks just tended to find each other.”

— James Patterson

140. “I vill eat nine Snikuhs bahs visout bahfing.”

— James Patterson

141. “Once I was seated, I couldn’t help people-watching. I’ll admit it, I’m an addict from way back.”

— James Patterson

142. “Angel wanted them all to burn in h-e- double toothpicks forever.”

— James Patterson

143. “A boy and a girl, fated to rule all. Two will rise, and One will fall.”

— James Patterson

144. “Bizarre! That’s the only word I can use to describe life sometimes. Just freaking bizarre.”

— James Patterson

145. “So you have your price. Your soul for a cookie.”

— James Patterson

146. “No one ever leaves alive The house at 7 Ocean Drive.”

— James Patterson

147. “A COINCIDENCE in a police investigation is like an honest man in politics.”

— James Patterson

148. “Once a bird kid, always a bird kid. – maximum ride series.”

— James Patterson

149. “Never fight fair – that’s not how you win. Use every dirty trick you can, Expect pain. Expect to get hurt. If you’re surprised by the pain, you just lost.”

— James Patterson

150. “Have faith and pursue the unknown end.” Oliver Wendell Holmes said that. I have faith. I pursue the unknown. That’s my job description.”

— James Patterson