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.

opening the book, i inhaled. the smell of old books, so sharp, so dry you can taste it.

I shall start at the beginning. Though of coarse, the beginning is never where you think it is.

People with ambition don't give a damn what other people think of them.

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

You are suffering from an ailment that affects ladies of romantic imaginations. Symptoms include fainting, weariness, loss of appetite, low spirits. While on one level the crisis can be ascribed to wandering about in freezing rain without the benefit of adequate waterproofing, the deeper cause is more likely to be found in some emotional trauma. However, unlike the heroines of your favorite novels, your constitution has not been weakened by the privations of life in earlier, harsher centuries. No tuberculosis, no childhood polio, no unhygienic living conditions. You'll survive.' " pg. 303

I still believe in stories. I still forget myself when I am in the middle of a good book. Books are for me, it must be said, the most important thing.