John O'Hara

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Becoming the reader is the essence of becoming a writer.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Writing
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Socially, I never belonged to any class, rich or poor. To the rich I was poor, and to the poor I was poor pretending to be like the rich.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Rich Or Poor
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Hot lead can be almost as effective coming from a linotype as from a firearm.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Health
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Never play cards with a man named Doc, and never eat at a place called Mom's.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Mom
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In every marriage the wife has to keep her mouth shut about at least one small thing her husband does that disgusts her.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Marriage
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But whats the use of being old if you cant be dumb?
- John O'Hara
Collection: Dumb
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George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don’t have to believe it if I don’t want to.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Believe
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They say great themes make great novels
- John O'Hara
Collection: Theme
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Book reviewers are little old ladies of both sexes.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Sex
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The trouble is people leave too much to luck. They get married and then trust to luck. They should be sure in the first place.
- John O'Hara
Collection: People
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Our story opens in the mind of Luther L. (L for LeRoy) Fliegler, who is lying in his bed, not thinking of anything, but just aware of sounds, conscious of his own breathing, and sensitive to his own heartbeats. Lying beside him is his wife, lying on her right side and enjoying her sleep.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Lying
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Illinois is a state of suspended animation and the people live in hibernation from Oct. to whenever it ever gets warmer.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Illinois
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When Caroline Walker fell in love with Julian English she was a little tired of him. That was in the summer of 1926, one of the most unimportant years in the history of the United States, and the year in which Caroline Walker was sure her life had reached a pinnacle of uselessness.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Summer
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Well, men go to musicals. Women are the ones that buy the tickets for plays.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Men
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So who's perfect? ... Washington had false teeth. Franklin was nearsighted. Mussolini had syphilis. Unpleasant things have been said about Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde. Tchaikovsky had his problems, too. And Lincoln was constipated.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Tchaikovsky
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I can get very depressed by a review that is unfair, unreasonable, and totally destructive.
- John O'Hara
Collection: Unfair