People always say, "Can writing be taught?" I always think, I can teach you how to write a better sentence, how to do dialogue, how to do character, but I can't teach you how to be a decent person, and I can't teach you how to have something to say.
Ann PatchettNo matter how much we love a book, the experience of reading it isn't complete until we can give it to someone who will love it as much as we do
Ann PatchettMaybe the private life wasn't forever. Maybe everyone got it for a little while and then spent the rest of their lives remembering.
Ann PatchettTo say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall .... [p.218 ff.]
Ann Patchett