No reality has the power to dispel a dream.

It is very useful, when one is young, to learn the difference between "literally" and "figuratively." If something happens literally, it actually happens; if something happens figuratively, it feels like it is happening. If you are literally jumping for joy, for instance, it means you are leaping in the air because you are very happy. If you are figuratively jumping for joy, it means you are so happy that you could jump for joy, but are saving your energy for other matters.

Composer” is a word which here means “a person who sits in a room, muttering and humming and figuring out what notes the orchestra is going to play.” This is called composing. But last night, the Composer was not muttering. He was not humming. He was not moving, or even breathing. This is called decomposing.

How do you do?" said Violet. "How do you do?" said Klaus. "Odo yow!" said Sunny.

Like a lot of people whose children were small in the 2000s, I read [Daniel Handler] books out loud and I loved them.

Someone feeling wronged is like someone feeling thirsty. Don’t tell them they aren’t. Sit with them and have a drink.

Don’t repeat yourself. It’s not only repetitive, it’s redundant, and people have heard it before.