Welcome to the GQ Resources hub — a hand-picked collection of every tool, book, and service I personally use to keep this site running and to keep growing as a reader, writer, and thinker.
Nothing here is theoretical. If it’s on this page, I’ve used it, paid for it, and found it worth recommending. Resources are grouped by category so you can jump straight to what matters to you.
📚 My Daily Reading Essentials
The tools below are the backbone of how I read 400+ books and still find time to run GQ. If you’re trying to build a serious reading habit, start here.
Buying a Kindle Paperwhite in 2014 is still one of the best investments I’ve ever made. Six years of nonstop use, 400+ books read, no apartment overflowing with paperbacks, and trees stay in the ground. Kindles are also cheaper than physical books over the long run. Worth every cent.
The perfect pairing with the Paperwhite. For under $10/month, you can theoretically read 100 books a month if you can keep up. I use it to sample widely before committing to physical purchases.
A premium book-summary service that gives you the core ideas of a book in about 15 minutes. I use Blinkist as a filter — if the key ideas resonate, I commit to the full book. It’s also great for refreshing your memory on books you read years ago.
The widest audiobook library out there, and the most affordable. I usually have Audible playing while working on the site. If you commute, walk, or do dishes, you have time for audiobooks.
My productivity has changed since I started using Panda Planner. It’s not the cheapest planner on the market, but it’s the most thoughtfully designed. Helps you stay gritty, happy, and focused — all backed by positive psychology research.
📖 Books That Changed My Life
Every one of these books shifted something fundamental in how I work, think, or persist. If you only read a handful of self-development books in your life, make them these.
The most practical book on habits I’ve ever read. No jargon, no gimmicks, just down-to-earth systems that actually stick. Check out the best quotes from Atomic Habits here. If you want long-lasting results that are fun to build, start here.
I once ran a fashion site pulling in over a million pageviews a year and 3.2M monthly Pinterest views — and I had no idea what it was actually about. The ONE Thing forced me to choose. It’s the reason GraciousQuotes has clear direction today.
I’ve abandoned more websites than I’d like to admit, usually right when compounding was about to kick in. This book convinced me to stick with GQ for the long haul. Bookmark this site and come back in a year — that’s the compound effect at work.
The book that gave me the language to understand why I kept quitting. Duckworth’s research on perseverance is genuinely life-changing, and reading it pushed me to commit to GQ in a way I hadn’t committed to anything before.
The hardest part of writing isn’t writing — it’s sitting down to write. Pressfield names that enemy “Resistance” and shows you how to beat it. This book is a tough-love wake-up call for anyone who’s been procrastinating on the work that actually matters.
🎓 Learning & Education Tools
Reading books is one path to growth — actively learning hard subjects is another. The tools below are what I recommend to readers who want to keep their minds sharp, pick up a new skill, or finally tackle a subject they gave up on in school. A great quote can spark curiosity, but these platforms are where you go to actually do the work.
The gold standard for free online learning. Whether you want to refresh your high-school math, learn economics, or get your kids ahead, Khan Academy has a structured course for it. Completely free, no catch.
If you learn by doing rather than watching, Brilliant is built for you. Interactive lessons in math, logic, computer science, and physics that actually make hard concepts click. Great for adults who want to stay mentally sharp.
Calculus is the subject most adults wish they’d taken more seriously the first time. GreenCalculus is a focused resource for anyone trying to relearn or finally understand calculus without the textbook intimidation. A good fit if you’re working through limits, derivatives, or integrals at your own pace.
University-level courses from places like Stanford, Yale, and Google — often free to audit. I use Coursera when I want depth on a subject and the structure of a real syllabus rather than self-directed YouTube rabbit holes.
💬 Quote Websites I Love
These are the sites I genuinely admire and frequently visit when curating content for GQ. Each one has a distinct flavor.
Not your typical quote site. Expect bizarre, humorous, and sometimes ridiculously funny lines you won’t find anywhere else.
Maxime Lagacé’s origin story for wisdomquotes.com is both sad and inspiring. The curation has angles you won’t see on bigger sites.
A great destination for classic inspirational quotes — Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, and other timeless voices.
Wonderfully peculiar. Topics include Cheating, Cowboys, Ego, Math, Lust — categories most quote sites wouldn’t dare. I love them for it.
Henrik Edberg’s site isn’t strictly a quote website, but it’s packed with happiness research and practical positivity tips.
If you love films, this is your home. They keep their lists updated with the latest releases.
Sleek, minimalist, and image-quote heavy. If you prefer visuals over plain text, you’ll feel right at home.
The cartoon-style featured images on Wealthy Gorilla inspired GQ’s early visual identity. Their curation is solid, but the design is what I keep coming back for.
📕 My Favorite Books About Quotes
One of the best-curated collections of leadership wisdom in print. When I need motivation, I flip to a random page — it works like a miracle every time.
What Matt Williford learned after reading a million quotes. He shares his favorites and explains why they matter for everyday life. Priceless.
⚙️ Blog & Hosting Stack
The exact tech stack running GraciousQuotes today. If you’re starting your own site, this is a battle-tested combination.
Migrated from PenNews to Genesis in May 2020 for the lightweight speed gains. I run the Brunch Pro child theme on top. Pages load fast and the codebase is clean.
The most user-friendly email marketing tool on the internet right now. Beginner-friendly, but powerful enough for seasoned creators. I use it to stay in touch with GQ’s most loyal readers.
I’ve tried WPEngine and Kinsta. Cloudways still wins for reliability, speed, and price. Hard to beat.
Site speed is a real SEO factor, and a good CDN is non-negotiable. KeyCDN is the cheapest reliable option I’ve found.
Built by the Jackson brothers. Lightweight, surgical, and genuinely effective at speeding up WordPress. A must-have if you care about Core Web Vitals.
Another Jackson brothers plugin. The lightest social-sharing plugin I’ve used, and the only one I’ve installed without regret.
What I use to create the quote videos on the GQ YouTube channel and embedded on every post. Drag, drop, done.
Started on the free plan and worked up to paid. Sumo converts well, looks clean, and pairs perfectly with ConvertKit.
✍️ How I Curate Quotes
Reading Across Multiple Sources
I open 4 to 7 quote websites at a time and read through them line by line. I don’t copy and paste indiscriminately — I deliberately skip many “famous” quotes if they don’t resonate. The bar is simple: would I share this with a friend?
Books
Many of GQ’s author-specific quote pages were built while I was reading the original books. I write down every line that hits me on paper first, then convert them to images for the site.
Design Tool
Every image quote on this site is designed in Canva. It’s accessible enough for beginners and capable enough for daily use at scale.