Quotations for All Occasions

From menopause to moving in, from a first date to losing weight, this ingeniously organized book of quotations fills a gap on everyone's reference shelf. Dividing life's events into those that occur every year, occasionally, or once in a lifetime, Quotations for All Occasions provides memorable comments for each of them, allowing you to find the perfect bon mot for all of life's characteristic passages.

On the most important occasions of our lives, we often find ourselves at a loss for words; when we want to console, celebrate, explain, inspire, or thank, we end up repeating such uninspiring, uninformative phrases as "Words cannot express how I feel." To help us find the right words, Catherine Frank has compiled this handy compendium of quotations that capture the mundane and the magnificent, the everyday and extraordinary moments of our lives.

The three sections of the book cover 150 occasions. "Every Year" offers quotations on all the special dates in the calendar from New Year's Day to New Year's Eve, including Martin Luther King Day, Valentine's Day, Ramadan, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. "Occasionally" presents quotations on such occasions as giving a speech, having an interview, becoming a parent, getting engaged, welcoming someone, and saying goodbye. "Once in a Lifetime" provides quotations on such momentous events as confirmation, coming out, turning 16, graduation, and retirement.

A sampling:

• Plato, John Donne, and Woody Allen give their words of wisdom on death.

• Betty Ford writes eloquently on recovery.

• Martina Navratilova ruminates on her first sexual encounter... and Holden Caufield on his.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and Frederick Douglass ponder Independence Day.

• Amy Tan reflects on the meaning of the Chinese New Year.

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Susan Sontag offer poignant descriptions of pain and illness.

Whether you are offering consolation or congratulations, condolences or confessions, Quotations for All Occasions has the perfect words for every occasion.

Catherine Frank is involved in historical preservation work in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she is currently completing a Ph.D. in English.

A unique title.... All public and academic libraries will want to purchase Frank's work because of the niche it fills in the vast array of available quotation dictionaries.

Svetlana Korolev:
Quotations for All Occasions is organized for ease of use....The collection of quotations can be recommended for a broad audience. It is also an excellent gift for someone that likes to compose a moving statement or to spice up a speech.

D.C. Dickinson, emeritus, University of Arizona:
Do librarians and readers need another quotation dictionary when a large number of excellent titles are already available? In this case, the answer is a resounding 'yes.' This lively compilation organizes quotations under three major headings: 'Every Year' (Passover, Labor Day, spring), 'Occasionally' (falling in love, taking exams, becoming a parent), and 'Once in a Lifetime' (turning 16, first home, first baby)....Entries supply not only the name of the writer/speaker, but the full title of the source and often a reference to the specific chapter from which the quote is taken. In many cases the compiler has attached a helpful note to explain context (e.g., when F. Scott Fitzgerald says 'I like large parties. They're so intimate,' we learn that the words were spoken by Jordan Baker, 'a bored socialite,' in chapter 3 ofThe Great Gatsby). A source index adds to the book's utility.

Peter Reading:
A source of bon mots for every eventuality, a catalogue of smart things to come out with at anything from a bar mitzvah to a burial.