There are no wrong books. What's wrong is the fear of them.

Prufrock had measured out his life with measuring spoons; Dubin, in books resurrecting the lives of others.

The past exudes legend: one can't make pure clay of time's mud.

Space plus whatever you feel equals more whatever you feel, marvelous for happiness, God save you otherwise.

Children were strangers you loved because you could love. If they gave back love when they were grown you were ahead of the game.

I am somewhat of a meliorist. That is to say, I act as an optimist because I find I cannot act at all, as a pessimist. One often feels helpless in the face of the confusion of these times, such a mass of apparently uncontrollable events and experiences to live through, attempt to understand, and if at all possible, give order to; but one must not withdraw from the task if he has some small things to offer - he does so at the risk of diminishing his humanity.

The short story packs a self in a few pages predicating a lifetime