"Alright who just said 'Harold counted brush strokes'?"
Harlod says this the first day when he hears the narrator's voice while brushing his teeth. He doesn't know where it is coming from, and he comically calls out to see who it is, even though he is alone in his apartment. This is the first instance of the metaphysical or the fictional crossing a boundary into the world of reality.
"I left my needles and socialist reading material at home."
Harold says this to Ana on the bus after Ana sarcastically tells him she is going to a meeting. He is attempting to break the tension between them, and it is his first successful joke with her. This joke lets Ana know that Harold is a kind human being, not just a stodgy taxman, and it wins him some favor with her, at least for a little bit.
"I'm not in the business of saving lives."
Karen says this to her writer's assistant, Penny, about the type of novels she writes. While Penny is sensible and is just trying to get Karen to write her book in time, Karen has made a career out of writing complex tragedies, and so she is intent on discovering the perfect subject and ending for her most recent morbid fantasy.
"I brought you flours."
Harold, in a bid to make it up to Ana after refusing to accept the gift of cookies she gives him, brings her a box filled with different kinds of flours. His gift is a riff on the traditional date offering: a bouquet of flowers. This play-on-words and charming gift (Ana is a baker) gets Ana to give him a second chance.
"I don't need a nicotine patch, Penny, I smoke cigarettes."
Penny is tasked with the difficult job of getting Karen Eiffel to finish her novel. Ever sensible, Penny also takes it upon herself to try and encourage Karen to have more healthy habits, and she suggests that Karen try nicotine patches as a way of quitting smoking. The sardonic Karen simply replies with this line, explaining that she has no intention of quitting.
"You are not King Hamlet, Scout Finch, Miss Marple, Frankenstein's Monster...or a Golem."
In trying to figure out what exactly is happening to Harold, Jules gives the taxman a short quiz to try and determine if he is in a classic novel. By asking a certain number of highly specific questions, he determines that Harold is none of these famous characters of literature.
"As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be ok. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true. And, so it was, a wristwatch saved Harold Crick."
This are the final lines of the film, which also happen to be the final lines of Karen's new novel about Harold. The quote outlines the ways that all the elements of one's life add up to make life worth living. She points out that the "anomalies" and the "subtleties" are the things that end up mattering in the end. This has the effect of repurposing Harold's early preoccupation with details and showing the ways that details do matter, that life is worth living, and that happy endings are possible.
"Little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death."
This bit of narration occurs as Harold is standing outside his office and resets his watch. While the narration has been disturbing him already, this particular line, predicting his death, is especially disturbing, and it is this line of Karen Eiffel's novel that makes Harold begin to investigate what is going on more closely.
"No one wants to die, Harold, but unfortunately we do. Harold, you will die someday, sometime. Heart failure at the bank. Choke on a mint. Some long, drawn-out disease you contracted on vacation. You will die. You will absolutely die. Even if you avoid this death, another will find you and I guarantee that it won't be nearly as poetic or meaningful as what she's written."
Harold brings Karen's manuscript to Jules and asks his advice. After Jules reads it, he says that Harold has to sacrifice his life for the good of the book. The book is just too good for Harold to make Karen change the ending. Jules, a great lover of literature, sees this as Karen's masterpiece, and tries to sweeten things for Harold by assuring him that dying in a Karen Eiffel novel will be more profound than any other way he might end up dying.
"Mr. Crick, it was a really awful day. I know, I made sure of it. So pick up the cookie, dip it in the milk, and eat it."
When Harold comes to review Ana's tax documents, she makes sure he has a horrible day. However, as he's leaving, she encourages him to sit down and eat a freshly baked cookie. He resists at first, not wanting to stay and chat, but with this line, Ana insists that he stay and eat the cookie.
