After a certain age, you couldn't even say where you were from. You went someplace, and lived there. And then you went someplace else.

They didn't understand it, but like so many unfortunate events in life, just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it isn't so.

The hallway was lined with numbered doors, odd numbers on one side and even numbers on the other, and large ornamental vases, too large to hold flowers and too small to hold spies.

Stop saying no offense,” I said, “when you say offensive things. It’s not a free pass.

Temper tantrums, however fun they may be to throw, rarely solve whatever problem is causing them.

Xenial' is a word which refers to the giving of gifts to strangers. . . . I know that having a good vocabulary doesn't guarantee that I'm a good person. . . . But it does mean I've read a great deal. And in my experience, well-read people are less likely to be evil.

Every new promise was like something heavy I had to carry, with no place to put anything down.