It is my rather subversive opinion that a writer's feelings of anonymity-obscurity are the second most valuable property on loan to him during his working years. J. D. Salinger More Quotes by J. D. Salinger More Quotes From J. D. Salinger One day a long time from now you'll cease to care anymore whom you please or what anybody has to say about you. That's when you'll finally produce the work you're capable of. J. D. Salinger one-daycarelong The world is full of actors pretending to be human J. D. Salinger pretendingactorsworld She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together. J. D. Salinger girlreadingtogether I’ll read my books and I’ll drink coffee and I’ll listen to music, and I’ll bolt the door. J. D. Salinger coffeedoorsbook Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. J. D. Salinger crazyhoperunning Make sure you marry someone who laughs at the same things you do. J. D. Salinger laughing Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry. J. D. Salinger confusedbeautifulmean If you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry. J. D. Salinger human-behavioroffersbeautiful It's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to. J. D. Salinger holden-caulfieldliteraturewant Marriage partners are to serve each other. Elevate, help, teach, strengthen each other, but above all, serve. Raise their children honorably, lovingly and with detachment. A child is a J. D. Salinger responsibilityhousechildren I am a kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy. J. D. Salinger happyhappinessinspirational Know your true measurements and dress your mind accordingly J. D. Salinger measurementminddresses The worst thing that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly. J. D. Salinger artistunhappywould-be All morons hate it when you call them a moron. J. D. Salinger holdencatchershate Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. J. D. Salinger missingmemorablefunny What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though. J. D. Salinger readingmemorablebook The true poet has no choice of material. The material plainly chooses him, not he it. J. D. Salinger materialspoetchoices You can't stop a teacher when they want to do something. They just do it. J. D. Salinger authoritywantteacher I’m just sick of ego, ego, ego. My own and everybody else’s. I’m sick of everybody that wants to get somewhere, do something distinguished and all, be somebody interesting. It’s disgusting. J. D. Salinger sicktruthinteresting probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. how well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. she was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that J. D. Salinger girlcitiesmen
