Just because something is traditional is no reason to do it, of course. Piracy, for example, is a tradition that has been carried on for hundreds of years, but that doesn't mean we should all attack ships and steal their gold.

In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle.

They say that when you’re really in love, the world becomes gossamer and gorgeous, but in my experience the world gets grimy, and the love object is in stark relief from the surroundings. This is love, a pretty thing on an ugly street.

Young writers should read books past bedtime and write things down in notebooks when they are supposed to be doing something else.

The smell of cooking food is often a calming one.

It is useless for me to describe to you how terrible Violet, Klaus, and even Sunny felt in the time that followed. If you have ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven't, you cannot possibly imagine it.

With a library it is easier to hope for serendipity than to look for a precise answer.