There is something about seeing real people on a stage that makes a bad play more intimately, more personally offensive than any other art form.

I feel about lending a book the way most fathers feel about their daughters living with a man out of wedlock.

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.

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

When friends stop being frank and useful to each other, the whole world loses some of its radiance.

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

We don't simply read books. We become them.