The 28 best Anne Lamott quotes on books and writing

The 28 best Anne Lamott quotes on books and writing, including the best Anne Lamott quotes on writing as a way of life, writing the truth, the writing process, shitty first drafts, and the magic of books. This post may contain affiliate links.


“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you.”

That quote always makes me breathe deep and smile. There’s something about hearing our deepest feelings spoken back to us by another person that makes life feel less scary and alone.

Are you a quote collector, too?

Words are more powerful than almost anything else, and so I love collecting little gems of insight from across the ages that I can flip through when things feel overwhelming or confusing. (I catalog a lot of favorite + prettily designed quotes over on Pinterest–follow me there!)

But some of my favorite quotes to collect are quotes about books and writing. Because if there’s one thing that heartens me, it’s remembering that books are pure magic.

best anne lamott quotes

So today I’m sharing some of my favorites: these are the 28 best Anne Lamott quotes on books and writing. Many of them are from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott, but there are just as many that were found and collected from her other books or other writing.

(But in case you need just one source for the best Anne Lamott quotes on writing, Bird by Bird is where you need to go. Here’s why I call it one of the 5 best books for writers.)

Confession: I meant to keep this list to under 10 (ha!), but I just could not cut some of these gems. Even reading through these Anne Lamott quotes while I was compiling this list made me feel more at ease and focused. So while it seems silly to say you can have 28 best Anne Lamott quotes, I present them to you anyway. To me, they are the best.

And I hope they also give you a few moments of breathing deep and smiling today.

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