The tension between 'yes' and no', between 'I can' and 'I cannot,' makes us feel that, in so many instances, human life is an interminable debate with one's self.

There are few things more subtly distressing than an inappropriate gift from someone close to you.

For years they have been using the role of 'sex object' as a cover while they spied out the land.

The more I like a book, the more reluctant I am to turn the page. Lovers, even book lovers, tend to cling. No one-night stands or "reads" for them.

If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's great, it should be read at least three times.

Two people making love, she once said, are like one drowned person resuscitating the other.

The moment a book is lent I begin to miss it.