The 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said

Robert Byrne Entertains With His Favorite Quotes of All Time

May 16, 2009

A solid collection of Robert Byrne's favorite quotes, and a good alternative to the comprehensive list of everything anyone ever said.

As a book of quotes, The 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said (Fawcett, ISBN: 0449203751, 1983) serves its purpose and then some, offering the reader more than just a book of things to write on a roommate's dry-erase board when they're down or throw into a scathing letter to an ex-girlfriend.

One Man’s Idea

This isn’t a novel, but the fact that the book is one man's idea of the 637 best things anyone ever said almost makes its writer, Robert Byrne, a character in the book. As he chose the quotes, he is defined by everything in here. Of course, that's not really the point of this at all, and it's a very minor subtext.

What isn't, though, is the question that arises from that: what would a different person’s list look like? There are as many different lists of favorite quotes as there are people to read them and say them, and Byrne has many fine choices that display a knack for wit, charm, and observation.

Not a Standard Book of Quotes

This isn't a turn-and-flip sectioned-off book of quotes. There is an index to find people easier, but the book is broken up into sections on God, Life, Death, Murder, Stupidity, Narcisism, Birth, Youth, Sex, Love, Marriage, Horses, Greeks, Romans, Politics, Literature, Drink, Presidents, and way more. Typical it’s not.

On the other hand, it's not exactly groundbreaking, either. There’s only so much that can be done with a book of quotes. Regardless of the arrangement, the only thing that can be done is change the selection. Aside from choosing between being as comprehensive as possible and covering only a single topic or idea, the quotes remain the same.

An Easy Read and a Nice Reference

To sit down and read all of The 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said is an easy task. It’s a quick read and a good way to kill a minute or two while waiting in line somewhere or doing anything where there’s not enough time to absorb an entire short story.

Go ahead and finish it. Chuckle, but be cautious: even the reader most appreciative of cleverness will get burned out on witty one-liners and wordplay somewhere around number four hundred and fifty. Though this was made before the internet, it definitely turned out to be a good format considering the ease and number of quotes available online in the "other" format.

The copyright of the article The 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said in Reference Books is owned by Ryan Werner. Permission to republish The 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.