Jonathan Ames Quotes

Powerful Jonathan Ames for Daily Growth

About Jonathan Ames

**Jonathan Ames**: A multi-talented American writer, born on November 19, 1960, in New York City. Raised in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, Ames attended the prestigious Dalton School before earning a Bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University and a Master of Fine Arts from Brooklyn College. Ames' writing career began with a series of journalistic pieces for magazines like GQ, The New Yorker, and Esquire. His unique style, characterized by his wit, humor, and introspective insights, quickly caught the attention of readers and critics alike. In 1997, Ames published his debut novel, "You Were Never Really Here," a gripping story about a traumatized veteran turned hitman. The book was later adapted into a critically acclaimed film directed by Lynne Ramsay in 2017. Ames is perhaps best known for his work on the HBO series "Bored to Death," which he co-created, executive produced, and wrote for. The show, starring Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, and Ted Danson, was praised for its witty dialogue and exploration of the modern New York City literary scene. Ames' other notable works include the WWII novel "The Extra Man" (2008), which was adapted into a film in 2010, and the essay collection "What's Not to Love?" (2013). His latest novel, "The Alpine Follies," was published in 2017. Throughout his career, Ames has been influenced by authors like Kurt Vonnegut, J.D. Salinger, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. His work often reflects his personal experiences and philosophical musings, offering a unique perspective on the human condition.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Love is like a river: it's always flowing, whether we follow it or not."

This quote suggests that love, much like a river, continues to flow regardless of our actions. It emphasizes that love persists even if we choose not to engage with it, implying its natural and continuous existence. The river can symbolize the relentless nature of love, flowing in all directions and finding its own path, mirroring the unstoppable force it holds over human emotions. Ultimately, Ames is encouraging us to recognize and follow the flow of love in our lives.


"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."

This quote emphasizes the importance of embracing change rather than resisting it. The notion here is that instead of trying to understand or rationalize change from a distance, one should actively engage with it, adapt, and flow along with its rhythm. It encourages us to see change as an opportunity for growth, progress, and personal evolution, rather than something to fear or avoid. In essence, the quote invites us to dance with life, moving freely and gracefully through its ebbs and flows.


"To truly love someone means to say, 'You are there.' Not 'You are here,' but 'You are there,' in my memory, part of my past, part of myself."

This quote suggests that true love extends beyond the present moment into the past and future. When one says "You are there," it means the loved one is not just physically present, but also exists in the lover's memory and identity. The person becomes an integral part of their partner's personal history and selfhood, making them a lasting presence even when they're apart or absent physically.


"Life is like a box of chocolates. Some are good; some are bad; and some you can't stand at all." (A nod to Forrest Gump)

This quote suggests that life, much like a box of chocolates, contains a mix of experiences. Just as some chocolates are pleasing, others may be disappointing or disliked, the statement implies that life offers a diverse range of events, some positive, negative, or indifferent. It encourages us to embrace this diversity and accept that the quality of our experiences in life can vary greatly, but it is through these experiences that we grow and learn.


"We were not born with the capacity to love but we learn it, slowly, from each other."

This quote suggests that love is not an innate ability or trait that humans possess at birth, but rather a skill that we develop and refine throughout our lives through interactions with others. It implies that love is learned and cultivated over time, influenced by the experiences, relationships, and lessons we gather from those around us. In essence, it emphasizes the social nature of love and the importance of each other in helping us understand and practice this powerful emotion.


I've always been inspired by Don Quixote as a role model of sorts, of the power of books to sort of make you insane in maybe a beautiful way.

- Jonathan Ames

Always, Role, Been, Quixote

Mostly I have to try to censor myself so as not to write things that will hurt other people, or that will go too far.

- Jonathan Ames

Will, Other, Mostly, Hurt

There are so many talented young writers named Jonathan, with whom by comparison I suffer terribly.

- Jonathan Ames

Young, Comparison, Named, Jonathan

When I was in college, I had the good fortune to have Joyce Carol Oates as my writing teacher. She told me that I could take an aspect of myself, and from that one bit of personality, I can create a character. This is what I have done, particularly in my novels.

- Jonathan Ames

College, Had, Bit, Carol

I don't really recognise success. I don't see myself as on an upwardly mobile trajectory. I see myself as on the edge of a cliff about to fall off.

- Jonathan Ames

Myself, Cliff, Mobile, Trajectory

Twitter is so severe, you know? And it's completely for free, it's scattershot, and it's very easy to feel embarrassed. It's hard to be artful with it. It's like a ticker tape. It's not a forum that's worth mastering, you know?

- Jonathan Ames

Like, Embarrassed, Very, Forum

Even when I was living below the poverty line as a novelist, I was still living better than 99.5% of the human population of the world. But in my little, soft realm of trying to amuse a few dozen middle-class people with my books and articles, I did struggle to survive in my own way.

- Jonathan Ames

Own, Line, Dozen, To Survive

I don't laugh that much, but I do like humorous books, and I like to entertain readers that way.

- Jonathan Ames

Like, Entertain, Books, Humorous

I didn't play or like a lot of board games as a child. I liked playing with my G.I. Joes and making up adventures for them.

- Jonathan Ames

Play, Making, Like, Making Up

I don't like rides. I take everything in life quite literally, and so I genuinely feel terrified on rides and liable to vomit at any moment, and I hate to vomit even more than I fear rides.

- Jonathan Ames

Like, Terrified, Literally, Liable

For me, books have always been a way to feel less alone while being alone. Perhaps if I was depressed and isolated, just communicating with these authors through their sentences helped me.

- Jonathan Ames

Through, Always, Been, Authors

I've always liked police-blotter kind of writing, or the writing of a policeman, right to the point and hardboiled. That's how I see at least the prose elements of scriptwriting.

- Jonathan Ames

Kind, Always, Prose, Policeman

I am part of a vast generation of people who perpetually live as if they just graduated from college.

- Jonathan Ames

College, Generation, Part, Graduated

Now, all writing - all the arts - are a form of 'Pay attention to me,' but there's also the flip side. Like, I want to give something. Let me entertain you, let me amuse you, let me try to please you with this thing I've made. And then pay attention to me.

- Jonathan Ames

Now, Entertain, Amuse, Flip

I'm actually much more shy and self-conscious than people's perception of me.

- Jonathan Ames

Actually, Self-Conscious, Perception

As a child, I wanted to be an athlete, a professional tennis player or something like that.

- Jonathan Ames

Athlete, Like, Wanted, Tennis Player

I might have some sort of personality disorder. I might not have proper filters; it might be some kind of version of Asperger's meets Tourettes meets prose.

- Jonathan Ames

Some, Prose, Meets, Filters

There's no shortage of material in life.

- Jonathan Ames

Life, Material, Shortage

I wish I was the kind of writer who would go to a war zone and write about something that's meaningful and important to people, but that's not my area of coverage.

- Jonathan Ames

I Wish, Area, Coverage, War Zone

It's hard to leave New York: this is where my friends are, my parents are. It is so vital. The whole world seems to look to New York.

- Jonathan Ames

Look, New, Whole, Vital

No, I'm not very productive at all. I'm probably like an animal. I mean, great animals in the ocean feed all the time. I'm someone who procrastinates, worries, for most of a month, and then I'll have a flurry of manic productivity with a sense of great urgency and fear for, like, two days.

- Jonathan Ames

Two, Very, Worries, Manic

I grew up in northern New Jersey - the banlieue of New York - and I now live in Brooklyn. I am separated from my parents by about 50 miles, but really there is almost no distance between us. I speak to them nearly every day.

- Jonathan Ames

Every Day, Distance, Almost, Separated

I don't know that I've gotten much feedback directly from the literary world; sometimes I doubt even the notion that there is a literary world, though I guess there is or was.

- Jonathan Ames

Gotten, Though, Literary, Directly

I don't mind being ridiculed - well, I guess I would mind a little, but it would only last a few minutes - it's all very ephemeral; it doesn't really matter what people think of me.

- Jonathan Ames

Mind, Think, Very, Ephemeral

I don't like to publicly acknowledge being a Jew.

- Jonathan Ames

Like, Acknowledge, Being, Publicly

I don't have ADD, but I only like to pay attention to the things I like to pay attention to, and things like getting a TV and getting the cable working are beyond me, and so I let such things lapse, sometimes for years. This applies to keeping my apartment clean.

- Jonathan Ames

Sometimes, Beyond, TV, Apartment

I promote my own self-hatred.

- Jonathan Ames

Own, My Own, Promote

I have very few hobbies. In fact, I have no hobbies.

- Jonathan Ames

Fact, Few, Very, Hobbies

I need to stay in the present and use that new-age mantra: 'I'm okay right now.' But I worry about all the things I'm failing at every moment.

- Jonathan Ames

Worry, Need, Okay, Mantra

The reason it's hard for me to tweet is I don't want to pronounce anything, and Twitter is for pronouncing.

- Jonathan Ames

Reason, Want, Twitter, Tweet

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