Quotes About Influence

When you publish a book, it's the world's book. The world edits it.

Often it's the case that we have to do a lot of exploration and marketing of the material we publish ourselves to get a big political impact for it.

If you publish Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography, no one will read it but if it's Madhuri Dixit's or Madhubala's autobiography people will come and read it.

Cory Doctorow should be too busy for lunch. He's co-editor of, and a prolific contributor to, one of the most influential blogs in the world, Boing Boing. Over the past decade the Canadian-born writer has published 16 books, mostly science fiction novels. He campaigns vigorously on the politics of the digital age.

In 1997, Alain de Botton published his book 'How Proust Can Change Your Life.' I was charmed by it. I remember using it in a course on cultural criticism for a graduate class that had a mix of theorists and creative writers.

I assumed 'Freak the Mighty' was probably too weird and melodramatic to find a publisher. I certainly never expected the book to have a profound influence on my career as a writer, but indeed it has.

Advertising's always been a considerable pressure on publishers.

I was given the ability to create stories and characters. That's my part of the long chain of writers, publishers, agents, booksellers, librarians, and a host of others who eventually deliver literature to the world. I want to do for others what Eudora Welty did for me.

I think having kids has been the biggest influence on my work since I started publishing.

I started a publishing company just so I could get the phone numbers of everyone that I'd ever admired.

Have you noticed that almost all the change in the world goes to women? When was the last time you had a five pence piece? Exactly. In a Christmas pudding. All the rest of it is in women's handbags.

I don't have a problem with a board that advises, that supervises, one with which we can have a discussion. But we will never accept a board that has control over Puerto Rico's affairs.

I feel grateful for the Puerto Ricans who created this genre that has inspired me to have such a beautiful career. Reggaeton has allowed me to continue evolving and growing musically, and I have been able to make it mine as well.

They said you'd really have to be something to be like Babe Ruth. But Babe Ruth was an American player. What we needed was a Puerto Rican player they could say that about, someone to look up to and try to equal.

Some of our best fighters are not only Puerto Rican greats but all-time greats of the sport. Carlos Ortiz, Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfredo Benitez and Felix 'Tito' Trinidad and many others have made Puerto Rican boxing what it is today, and I am only an extension of their greatness.

As a Puerto Rican, I'm always going be grateful to Jose Andres.

I definitely think it's cool being Puerto Rican and Dominican, but I feel it has no influence on my music.

I feel that, as a Puerto Rican and Latin American musician, a lot of the stuff that I write, even if I mean it or not, is gonna have some elements of that.

I grew up listening to Puerto Rican music like everybody else. But when I listened to Charlie Parker for the first time, I said, 'How does this guy play so fast?'

You know, you may not be born in Puerto Rico, but Puerto Rican is definitely born in you.

What I can tell you is that for Puerto Rico being such a small island, it has culturally impacted the entire world.

I see myself like what Drake did in the game. I came with melodies and different lyrics, from a different place - reggaeton is from Puerto Rico; Drake is from Canada.

Puff Daddy is a great party thrower. He goes down in the history books.

Puff is more of a mentor rather than someone who's directly involved in my movement or helping me put my album together. It's not like me and him party together. He's definitely more of, like, a mentor.