Quotes by John Grisham - Page 3

Sometimes I can tackle an issue -homelessness, tobacco litigation, insurance fraud, the death penalty - and wrap a good story around it. These are the best books, the ones with a story and a message.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Death Penalty
Fraud
Good Story
Homelessness
Tobacco
Books
Insurance
Issue
Litigation
Penalty
Story
Tackle
Wrap
Copy Quote
The company later went broke, and of course all blame was directed at the lawyers. Not once did I hear any talk that maybe a trace of mismanagement could in any way have contributed to the bankruptcy.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Blame
Lawyer
Way
Copy Quote
I've sold too many books to get good reviews anymore. There's a lot of jealousy, because [reviewers] think they can write a good novel or a best-seller and get frustrated when they can't. I've learned to despise them.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Book
Thinking
Writing
Copy Quote
I start every morning at 7 or 7:30 in the same place - my little office where it's dark and cozy - with a cup of the same really strong black coffee. It's my little cocoon. There's no phone or fax or Internet. And no music.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Morning
Black
Black Coffee
Cozy
Dark
Fax
Internet
Office
Strong
Cocoon
Cup
Phone
Place
Start
Copy Quote
I have learned not to read reviews. Period. And I hate reviewers. All of them, or at least all but two or three. Life is much simpler ignoring reviews and the nasty people who write them. Critics should find meaningful work.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Critics
Hate
Meaningful
Nasty
Reviewers
Three
Writing
Life Work People
Life Work Hate
Read
Period
Ignoring
Learned
Least
Simpler
Copy Quote
And that's the mission of The Innocence Project in New York, is to exonerate people who have been wrongfully convicted, and also work from a policy angle with Congress and state legislatures to prevent future wrongful convictions.
John Grisham / Lawyer
New York
Future
Angle
Congress
Innocence
People
Policy
State
Convicted
Project
Work Future People
Mission
Prevent
Wrongfully
York
Copy Quote
My mum was never too keen on TV, so we kids all went to the library and got books out. Right from the start, I loved the works of Mark Twain. Every time I read about Tom Sawyer, I'd go out and do something low-level naughty, just like him.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Kids
Book
Naughty
Copy Quote
There are few writers who, if they publish anything, I am going to buy it: Ian McEwan, Scott Turow, Pat Conroy - he was a buddy of mine and I always read his stuff. Also: Harlan Coben, Elmore Leonard, John Le Carre, but he's pushing ninety.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Buddy
Publish
Copy Quote
Quite often I can be in a bookshop, standing beneath a great big picture of myself and paying for a book with a credit card clearly marked John Grisham, yet no one recognises me. I often say I'm a famous author in a country where no one reads.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Famous
Big Picture
Book
Cards
Country
Credit
Credit Card
Standing
Great Myself Me
Picture
Quite
Author
Beneath
Card
Clearly
John
John Grisham
Marked
Paying
Reads
Recognises
Copy Quote
I sat down with a yellow legal pad and began writing 'A Time to Kill.' Had no idea what I was doing. It became, over a period of several years, a secret little hobby nobody knew about except my wife, because she was reading chapter by chapter.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Legal
No Idea
Reading
Sat
Secret
Yellow
Began
Chapter
Hobby
Period
Except
Pad
Several
Copy Quote
Because I was single, there was a chance I was a homosexual. Because I went to Syracuse, wherever that was, then I was probably a Communist. Or worse, a Liberal. Because I was from Memphis, I was a subversive intent on embarrassing Ford County.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Chance
Communist
Memphis
Copy Quote
Nobody wants to read about the honest lawyer down the street who does real estate loans and wills. If you want to sell books, you have to write about the interesting lawyers - the guys who steal all the money and take off. That's the fun stuff.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Book
Fun
Fun Stuff
Honest
Interesting
Lawyer
Real
Stuff
Books
Nobody
Read
Sell
Estate
Street
Guys
Off
Loans
Real Estate
Steal
Wants
Wills
Copy Quote
I was a lawyer for 10 years - a short time, but it molded me into who I am. My clients were little people fighting big corporations, so it was a natural thing to not only represent the little guy but also to pull for him - it's the American way.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Big Corporations
Clients
Corporations
Fighting
Guy
Lawyer
Natural
Short Time
Who I Am
Years
Time I Am Me
American Way
Time Fighting Me
Time Me I Am
Represent
Short
Him
Little People
Molded
Natural Thing
Pull
Copy Quote
I'm not in favor of the death penalty. But I'm in favor of locking these people away in maximum security units where they can never get out. They can never escape. They can never be paroled. Lock the bad ones away. But you gotta rethink everybody else.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Death
Death Penalty
Favors
Locks
Maximum
People
Security
Units
Bad Ones
Escape
Everybody Else
Favor
Gotta
Lock
Penalty
Rethink
Copy Quote
I grew up in a very small, close-knit, Southern Baptist family, where everything was off-limits. So I couldn't wait to get to college and have some fun. And I did for the first two years. And I regret a lot of it, because my grades were in terrible shape.
John Grisham / Lawyer
College
Fun
Regret
Copy Quote
Wrongful convictions happen every week in every state in this country. And they happen for all the same reasons. Sloppy police work. Eyewitness identification is the most - is the worst type almost. Because it's wrong about half the time. Think about that.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Country
Half
Identification
Police
Sloppy
Type
Week
Worst
Convictions
Almost
State
Wrong
Half The Time
Happen
Reasons
Copy Quote
It's amazing how lies grow. You start with a small one that seems easy to cover, then you get boxed in and tell another one. Then another. People believe you at first, then they act upon your lies, and you catch yourself wishing you'd simply told the truth.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Believe
Lying
People
Copy Quote
All students enter law school with a certain amount of idealism and desire to serve the public, but after three years of brutal competition we care for nothing but the right job with the right firm where we can make partner in seven years and earn big bucks.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Jobs
School
Years
Copy Quote
Stephen King reached out to me twenty-five years ago and taught me some valuable lessons. In return, I've tried to be generous with my time over the years with young writers. I've given them my email and said if you need someone to talk to, I've been through it.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Generous
Valuable
Copy Quote
I always try to tell a good story, one with a compelling plot that will keep the pages turning. That is my first and primary goal. Sometimes I can tackle an issue-homelessness, tobacco litigation, insurance fraud, the death penalty-and wrap a good story around it.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Death
Compelling
Fraud
Goal
Good Story
Issues
Pages
Pages Turning
Plot
Tobacco
Good Always Will
Around
Death Good Always
Try
Insurance
Litigation
Primary
Primary Goal
Story
Tackle
Tell
Wrap
Copy Quote
Very few writers understand the complex history and maddening social order of the Mississippi Delta. For Steve Yarbrough, though, it's home turf. He is wickedly observant, funny, cynical, evocative, and he possesses a gift that cannot be taught: he can tell a story.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Home
Mississippi Delta
Order
Copy Quote
I give off rather mixed messages about the law. On the one hand, I can honestly say I don't miss working in a law office. On the other hand I do enjoy watching the law and while the profession may have its problems, I have sold zillions of books out of magnifying them.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Book
Hands
Honestly
Law
Magnifying
Messages
Profession
Miss
Mixed
Sold
Copy Quote
More than 100 people have been sent to death row who were later exonerated because they weren't guilty or fairly tried. Most criminal defendants do not get adequate representation because there are not enough public defenders to represent them. There is a lot that is wrong.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Adequate
Criminals
Defenders
Guilty
People
Fairly
Represent
Criminal
Row
Sent
Copy Quote
And they drank heavily, partied with great enthusiasm, and relished the drug culture; they moved in and out and slept around, and this was okay because they defined their own morality. They were fighting for the Mexicans and the redwoods, dammit! They had to be good people!
John Grisham / Lawyer
Drug
Fighting
People
Copy Quote
An outline is crucial. It saves so much time. When you write suspense, you have to know where you're going because you have to drop little hints along the way. With the outline, I always know where the story is going. So before I ever write, I prepare an outline of 40 or 50 pages.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Littles
Pages
Writing
Copy Quote
I stopped reading William Faulkner because it's hard work. I want to read a good writer, but I also want to read something where the pages are going to move along. That's what I want. It doesn't have to be a thriller or a mystery. Just something where I get caught up in the story.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Hard Work
Moving
Reading
Copy Quote
I've had nine of my books adapted to film, and almost all were enjoyable. I've been very lucky with Hollywood, and look forward to more movies being adapted. But I don't get involved in that process. I know nothing about making movies and I stay away from it and hope for the best.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Adapted
Enjoyable
Film
Hollywood
Involved
Lucky
Nine
Process
Almost All
Books
Stay
Forward
Making Movies
Copy Quote
We've sent 130 men to death row to be executed in this country, at least 130 that we know of, who have later have been exonerated because they were either innocent, or they were not fairly tried. That's 130 people that we've locked down on death row. And they've spent years there.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Innocent
Locked
Fairly
Executed
Later
Row
Sent
Spent
Tried
Copy Quote
There is no devious and dangerous life. I've lived a charmed life, especially in the last thirty years since I've started publishing. I've won the lottery. And I keep winning it every year and I am so fortunate to do something I thoroughly enjoy and still enjoy after a bunch of books.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Book
Enjoy
Winning
Copy Quote
We cuss them because we're not good enough for them. We hate them because they wouldn't look at us, couldn't be bothered to give us an interview. I guess there's a Trent & Brent in every city, in every field. I didn't make it and I don't belong, so I'll just go through life hating them.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Cities
Giving
Hate
Copy Quote
I don't start a novel until I have lived with the story for awhile to the point of actually writing an outline and after a number of books I've learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write. And if I cheat on the outline I get in trouble with the book.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Book
Numbers
Writing
Copy Quote
I still enjoy the process of writing. If I ever feel like I am going through the motions because I can sell anything at this level, I hope that somebody, somewhere who I trust will tell me to take a break and stop because it's sounding old. But so far, I don't feel like I'm boring anyone.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Boring
Break
Writing
Copy Quote
I was on the verge of tears, so I turned and ran past the trailer and along the field road until I was safely out of their sight. Then I ducked into the cotton and waited for friendly voices. I sat on the hot ground, surrounded by stalks four feet tall, and I cried, something I really hated to do.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Feet
Past
Sight
Copy Quote
So many book sections in newspapers and magazines used to be lively and vibrant places. Now they are gone. You just don't see many reviews anymore. I can't control that, so I don't worry about it. I just try to do what I do and write books that people find every entertaining. I don't worry about the critics.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Book
Worry
Writing
Copy Quote
I grew up in a very small, close-knit, Southern Baptist family, where everything was off-limits. So I couldn't wait to get to college and have some fun. And I did for the first two years. And I regret a lot of it, because my grades were in terrible shape. I never got in serious trouble, except for my grades.
John Grisham / Lawyer
College
Fun
Grades
Grew
Regret
Serious
Southern
Southern Baptist
Terrible
Trouble
Baptist
Except
Wait
Small
Shape
Copy Quote
My clients were always poor folks, working folks, people who were in trouble and couldn't afford to pay a whole lot. I found it very difficult to say no to somebody who needed help, so most of my work turned out to be pro bono. It didn't start out that way, but it turned out that way because I never got paid.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Clients
Needed
Paid
Poor
Trouble
Work Start Always
Afford
Bono
Pro
Turned
Copy Quote
Charlottesville is a quiet town with friendly people, good schools, lots of churches, parks, and a bustling, growing community that more or less revolves around one of the country's great public universities. Volunteerism is rampant, and dozens of nonprofits hustle about, solving problems and helping those in need.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Friendly
Helping
Hustle
Parks
Quiet
Lots
Good Great Community
Churches
Dozens
Good Schools
More Or Less
Rampant
Revolves
Schools
Solving
Universities
Copy Quote
I practiced law for 10 years, and I always admired the lawyers who were not afraid to take unpopular cases. And I never had the guts to do that. I was playing it safe. I was trying to make a living. And I just never volunteered for a really tough case, and there were some of them I should've taken. And I admired the lawyers who did.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Cases
Guts
Admired
Unpopular
Lawyers
Practiced
Volunteered
Copy Quote
In 1984, when I was a rookie member of the House, there was a bill introduced to make Martin Luther King's birthday a state holiday. It didn't have a chance. As time passed, though, more and more states adopted the holiday. Finally, after about five years, we passed it and, I think, almost unanimously. As I said, change is slow and hard.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Birthday
Chance
Adopted
Hard
Holiday
House
Luther
Said
States
Years
After
Almost
Bill
Finally
Introduced
Martin
Member
More And More
Passed
Slow
Rookie
Though
Unanimously
Copy Quote
I remember Stephen King did a fundraiser one time with J.K. Rowling and he was very impressed with her. But we talk a lot about publishing, bookselling, and book writing. He's been around for ten years longer than me and was a bestseller right off the bat. And he's seen and done everything. It's rare to be with somebody who has been through all of that.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Book
Done
Writing
Copy Quote
Stephen King told me a long time ago, when he gave me some advice about the movies. He said to take the money up front and expect it to be something different than the book and if you don't like that don't deal with Hollywood. But if you take the money, shut up and don't criticize the film because you sold it. The movie doesn't change a word of the book.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Advice
Book
Long
Copy Quote
I did get tired of hearing that criticism years ago. That is not a compliment. Being labeled a "beach read" is a put-down. So, I did deliberately set out to write a book, Camino Island, that would be very entertaining and compulsively readable and we published it on June 6 in time for summer vacation, hoping that people would buy it and take it to the beach.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Vacation
Beach
Book
Summer
Copy Quote
The two mistakes that come to mind are people who introduce a flood of characters in the first few pages. Where the reader has to stop and get out a flow chart and has to figure out who is who. And you just can't do that - introduce the first four generations of a character's family in the first chapter. You can introduce four or five characters at the most in the first chapter. Another mistake is to use big words that are not normally used in conversation to try to impress folks with your vocabulary.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Character
Mistake
People
Copy Quote
Mr. Buckley, let me explain it this way. And I'll do so very carefully & slowly so that even you will understand it. If I was the sheriff, I would not have arrested him. If I was on the grand jury, I would not have indicted him. If I was the judge, I would not try him. If I was the D.A., I would not prosecute him. If I was on the trial jury, I would vote to give him a key to the city, a plaque to hang on his wall, & I would send him home to his family. And, Mr. Buckley, if my daughter is ever raped, I hope I have the guts to do what he did.
John Grisham / Lawyer
Daughter
Home
Wall
Copy Quote

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John Grisham Quotes - Page 3

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