David Levithan Quotes About Giving

Quotes about: Giving

• To get something you must give something away. To hold something you must give something away. To love something you must give something away.

  David Levithan

  Giving

  David Levithan (2008). “The Realm of Possibility”, p.126, Knopf Books for Young Readers

• I think one of the highest compliments you can give a person is that when you are talking to him, you are not thinking about the fact that you are talking to him. That is, your thoughts and words all exist on a single, engaged level. You are being yourself because you aren't bothering to think about who you should be. It is like when you talk in a dream.

  David Levithan

  Dream, Being Yourself, Thinking

• We switch to another language-- not our invented language or the language we've learned from our lives. As we walk further up the mountain, we speak the language of silence. This language gives us time to think and move. We can be here and elsewhere at the same time.

  David Levithan

  Moving, Thinking, Giving

• I never know what you really want, if I can give it to you, or if I’m already too late.

  David Levithan

  Giving, Too Late, Want

  David Levithan (2011). “The Lover's Dictionary: A Novel”, p.64, Macmillan

• How can you spend hours every day trying in small ways to figure out who you are, then have a near-stranger give you a sentence of yourself that says it better than you ever could?

  David Levithan

  Giving, Trying, Way

  Rachel Cohn, David Levithan (2014). “Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List”, p.17, Egmont UK

• This is the hard part about having best friends that I feel no attachment to -- I don't give them any benefit of the doubt. And being best friends is always about the benefit of the doubt.

  David Levithan

  Attachment, Giving, Doubt

  David Levithan (2013). “Every Day”, p.25, Egmont UK

• Maybe language is kind, giving us these double meanings. Maybe it's trying to teach us a lesson, that we can always be two things at once.

  David Levithan

  Two, Giving, Trying

  David Levithan (2011). “The Lover's Dictionary: A Novel”, p.192, Macmillan

• Told her she was beautiful. Didn't give up when she didn't believe me.

  David Levithan

  Beautiful, Giving Up, Believe

  David Levithan (2008). “The Realm of Possibility”, p.124, Knopf Books for Young Readers

• Every single answer starts with the phrase 'I don't know.' But most of the time she does know, if I give her the time and the space in which to answer.

  David Levithan

  Space, Giving, Doe

  David Levithan (2013). “Every Day”, p.13, Egmont UK

• You can give words, but you can't take them. And when words are given, that is when they are shared. We remember what that was like. Words so real they were almost tangible. There are conversations you remember, for certain. But more than that, there is the sensation of conversation. You will remember that, even when the precise words begin to blur.

  David Levithan

  Real, Giving, Tangible

  David Levithan (2014). “Two Boys Kissing”, p.35, Egmont UK

• Neophyte, n. There are millions upon millions of people who have been through this before-- why is it that no one can give my good advice?

  David Levithan

  People, Giving, Advice

• And yes, Holden would keep those kids from falling off the cliff, but WHO WOULDN'T? Does she think I would just fold my arms or give them a pat on the back before they sailed headfirst to the ground? We are all catchers, and it's sad that she doesn't see it. Instead she sees the PHONINESS, she deplores the world even after I point out that I am in it.

  David Levithan

  Fall, Kids, Thinking

  David Levithan (2008). “The Realm of Possibility”, p.61, Knopf Books for Young Readers

• There comes a time when the body takes over the life. There comes a time when the body’s urges, the body’s needs, dictate the life. You have no idea you are giving the body the key. But you hand it over. And then it’s in control. You mess with the wiring and the wiring takes charge.

  David Levithan

  Keys, Hands, Ideas

  David Levithan (2013). “Every Day”, p.42, Egmont UK

• This is what you do now to give your day topography--scan the boxes, read the news, see the chain of your friends reporting about themselves, take the 140-character expository bursts and sift through for the information you need. It's a highly deceptive world, one that constantly asks you to comment but doesn't really care what you have to say. The illusion of participation can sometimes lead to participation. But more often than not, it only leads to more illusion, dressed in the guise of reality.

  David Levithan

  Character, Reality, Giving

• me giving my mom romantic advice is kind of like a goldfish giving a snail advice on how to fly.” -Will Grayson (pg. 66)

  David Levithan

  Mom, Giving, Advice

• ...he hopes that maybe it'll make people a little less scared of two boys kissing than they were before, and a little more welcoming to the idea that all people are, in fact, born equal, no matter who they kiss or screw, no matter what dreams they have or love they give.

  David Levithan

  Dream, Kissing, Boys

  David Levithan (2014). “Two Boys Kissing”, p.112, Egmont UK

• I love you,” she says. “I love you,” I say. And then we hang up, because nothing else needs to be said after that. I want to give Zara her life back. Even if I feel I deserve something like this, I don’t deserve it at her expense.

  David Levithan

  Love You, Zara, Giving

  David Levithan (2013). “Every Day”, p.182, Egmont UK

• I asked you what you wanted and you said you didn't want anything. And I told you I wasn't planning on giving you anything; I was planning on giving you something.

  David Levithan

  Giving, Want, Planning

  David Levithan (2011). “Every You, Every Me”, p.2, Knopf Books for Young Readers

• Ted is smart and good-looking, but he doesn't use it to good effect, like a rich person that never gives to charity.

  David Levithan

  Smart, Giving, Use

  David Levithan (2009). “Boy Meets Boy”, p.6, Knopf Books for Young Readers

• You're giving up. You're slipping into being miserable and if you are being miserable, then it's all about you again. But it's not all about you. Love doesn't work that way.

  David Levithan

  Giving Up, Way, Slipping

• We wish we could have been there for you. We didn't have many role models of our own--we latched on to the foolish love of Oscar Wilde and the well-versed longing of Walt Whitman because nobody else was there to show us an untortured path. We were going to be your role models. We were going to give you art and music and confidence and shelter and a much better world. Those who survived lived to do this. But we haven't been there for you. We've been here. Watching as you become the role models.

  David Levithan

  Art, Giving, Role Models

  David Levithan (2014). “Two Boys Kissing”, p.113, Egmont UK

• My main piece of advice would be dont worry about being published - just write a really good book, but also dont be afraid to write a bad book. Give yourself permission to fail, and dont be afraid.

  David Levithan

  Book, Writing, Giving

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