J. D. Salinger — Quotes from Author's Books

He hated it when you called a moron. All morons hate it when you call them a moron.

People are mostly hot to have a discussion when you're not.

The thing is, if you get very depressed about something, it's hard as hell to swallow.

A woman's body is like a violin and all, and that it takes a terrific musician to play it right.

You can't trust anybody in a goddam school.

People are always ruining things for you.

That's the whole trouble.
When you're feeling very depressed, you can't even think.

“I'm not in the mood right now,” I said. I wasn't, either. You have to be in the mood for those things.

If you're supposed to sock somebody in the jaw, and you sort of feel like doing it, you should do it.

You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times out of ten they're mean bastards at heart.

I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away.

He was one of those bald guys that comb all their hair over from the side to cover up the baldness. I'd rather be bald than do that.

You don’t always have to get too sexy to get to know a girl.

Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something.
Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap.
Who wants flowers when you're dead?
Nobody.

It's not too bad when the sun's out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out.

But you don't have to be a bad guy to depress somebody — you can be a good guy and do it.