Susan Orlean

Quotations

  • “I don’t turn to greeting cards for wisdom and advice, but they are a fine reflection of the general drift of the culture.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “I wish I had coined the phrase ‘tyranny of choice,’ but someone beat me to it. The counterintuitive truth is that have an abundance of options does not make you feel privileged and indulged too many options make you feel like all of them are wrong, and that you are wrong if you choose any…

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  • “Sometimes I’m dazzled by how modern and fabulous we are, and how easy everything can be for us that’s the gilded glow of technology, and I marvel at it all the time.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “I have long been one of those tedious people who rails against the coronation of ‘student-athletes.’ I have heard the argument that big-time athletics bring in loads of money to universities. I don’t believe the money goes anywhere other than back into the sports teams, but that’s another story.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “I am of mixed minds about the issue of privacy. On one hand, I understand that information is power, and power is, well, power, so keeping your private information to yourself is essential – especially if you are a controversial figure, a celebrity, or a dissident.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “Every corny thing that’s said about living with nature – being in harmony with the earth, feeling the cycle of the seasons – happens to be true.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “In the course of transferring all my CDs to my iPod, I have found myself wandering the musical hallways of my past and reacquainting myself with music I haven’t listened to in years.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “The first thing I think about when I wake up most mornings is the fact that I’m tired. I have been tired for decades. I am tired in the morning and I am tired while becalmed in the slough of the afternoon, and I am tired in the evening, except right when I try to…

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  • “I have long been one of those tedious people who rails against the coronation of ‘student-athletes.’ I have heard the argument that big-time athletics bring in loads of money to universities. I don’t believe the money goes anywhere other than back into the sports teams, but that’s another story.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “Knowledge is a beautiful thing, but there are a few things I wish I didn’t know.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “I work at home, in the country, and days will go by when, except for my husband and son and the occasional UPS man, the only sentient creatures that see me are my chickens and turkeys.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “When I wonder what the future of books will be, I often think about horses. Before automobiles existed, everyone had a horse. Then cars became available, and their convenience, compared to horses, was undeniable.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “What’s funny is that the idea of popularity – even the use of the word ‘popular’ – is something that had been mostly absent from my life since junior high. In fact, the hallmark of life after junior high seemed to be the shedding of popularity as a central concern.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “Buying a car used to be an experience so soul-scorching, so confidence-splattering, so existentially rattling that an entire car company was based on the promise that you wouldn’t have to come in contact with it.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “I went to a football school, which meant that I went to a university that served up education and was simultaneously operating a sports franchise.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “Buying a car used to be an experience so soul-scorching, so confidence-splattering, so existentially rattling that an entire car company was based on the promise that you wouldn’t have to come in contact with it.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “I want a chainsaw very badly, because I think cutting down a tree would be unbelievably satisfying. I have asked for a chainsaw for my birthday, but I think I’ll probably be given jewelry instead.” -Susan Orlean

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  • “One of my favorite activities as a teen-ager was to watch television over the phone with my best friend.” -Susan Orlean

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  • I once had a boyfriend who couldn’t write unless he was wearing a necktie and a dress shirt, which I thought was really weird, because this was a long time ago, and no one I knew ever wore dress shirts, let alone neckties it was like he was a grown-up reenacter or something. – Susan…

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