What happens in a certain place can stain your feelings for that location, just as ink can stain a white sheet.

Wicked people never have time for reading. It's one of the reasons for their wickedness.

-Most people would say that she's beautiful. -That's because she's been with most people.

Criminals should be punished, not fed pastries.

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.

I decided that it might be interesting to have terrible things happen to orphans over and over again.

I was so grateful that Lemony Snicket wasn't the worst movie ever made that I overlooked many things that might have otherwise upset me.