Before my death I hope to obtain my life.

I had decided against religion a couple of years back. If it were true, it made fools out of people, or it drew fools. And if it weren't true, the fools were all the more foolish. What I need is a good doctor, I thought. You either lived or died.

That's how it is with books, isn't it: They're not in a hurry. They'll wait for you till you're ready. People empty me. I have to go away to refill.

Without literature, life is hell.

If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.

If you can't write the next line, well, you're dead. The past doesn't matter.

That's what friendship means: sharing the prejudice of experience.