Tragedy alters everything.

Of course I loved books more than people. Of course I valued "Jane Eyre" over the anonymous stranger...Of course all of Shakespeare was worth more than a human life.

But silence is not a natural environment for stories. They need words. Without them they grown pale, sicken and die. And then they haunt you.

There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere.

To anyone who took the trouble to look, I was plainly visible, but when people are expecting to see nothing, that is usually what they see.

I read *old* novels. The reason is simple. I prefer proper endings.

I don't pretend reality is the same for everyone.