Most of our childhood is stored not in photos, but in certain biscuits, lights of day, smells, textures of carpet.

What kills us isn't one big thing, but thousands of tiny obligations we can't turn down for fear of disappointing others.

The problem with clichés is not that they contain false ideas, but rather that they are superficial articulations of very good ones...If...we are obliged to create our own language, it is because there are dimensions to ourselves absent from clichés, which require us to flout etiquette in order to convey with greater accuracy the distinctive timbre of our thought.

Booksellers are the most valuable destination for the lonely, given the numbers of books that were written because authors couldn't find anyone to talk to.

There is a devilishly direct relationship between the significance of an idea and how nervous we become at the prospect of having to think about it.

Unnatural to expect that learning to be happy should be any easier than, say, learning to play the violin or require any less practice.

The largest part of what we call 'personality' is determined by how we've opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness".