WIST Quotations

Doyle, Arthur Conan -- Story (1891-09), “A Case of Identity,” [Holmes], The Strand Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3

Dave — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 22:59:34 +0000

My dear fellow, life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outré results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) British writer and physician
Story (1891-09), “A Case of Identity,” [Holmes], The Strand Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3

Collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, No. 3 (1892).

Doyle, Arthur Conan -- Story (1891-08), “The Red-Headed League,” The Strand Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 2

Dave — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 23:36:07 +0000

“You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.”
“A proposition which I took the liberty of doubting.”
“You did, Doctor, but none the less you must come round to my view, for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you until your reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to be right.”

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) British writer and physician
Story (1891-08), “The Red-Headed League,” The Strand Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 2

Collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, No. 2.

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1994-04-17)

Dave — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 21:02:12 +0000

HOBBES: If you couldn’t find any weirdness, maybe we’ll just have to make some!

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1994-04-17)

Adams, Douglas -- Dirk Gently No. 2, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, ch. 10 (1988)

Dave — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 01:19:47 +0000

“You,” said Sally Mills, “are very strange.”
“Only,” said Dirk, “as strange as I need to be.”

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Dirk Gently No. 2, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, ch. 10 (1988)

Lindbergh, Anne Morrow -- Gift From the Sea (1955)

Dave — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 00:48:05 +0000

The world today does not understand, in either man or woman, the need to be alone. How inexplicable it seems. Anything else will be accepted as a better excuse. If one sets aside time for a business appointment, a trip to the hairdresser, a social engagement or a shopping expedition, that time is accepted as inviolable. But if one says: I cannot come because that is my hour to be alone, one is considered rude, egotistical or strange. What a commentary on our civilization, when being alone is considered suspect; when one has to apologize for it, make excuses, hide the fact that one practices it — like a secret vice!

Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001) American writer, pilot
Gift From the Sea (1955)

Pratchett, Terry -- Good Omens, 4. “Thursday” (1990) [with Neil Gaiman]

Dave — Thu, 08 May 2014 14:47:42 +0000

He didn’t say “That’s weird.” He wouldn’t have said “That’s weird” if a flock of sheep had cycled past playing violins. It wasn’t the sort of thing a responsible engineer said.

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Good Omens, 4. “Thursday” (1990) [with Neil Gaiman]