And while I was not an admirer of people in the specific, I liked them in the abstract. It is only the execution of the idea that disappoints.

Books remember all the things you cannot contain.

but you can't spend your whole life hoping people will ask you the right questions. you must learn to love and answer the questions they already ask.

In reference works, as in sin, omission is as bad as willful misbehavior.

Fire is a speed reader, which is why the ignorant burn books: fire races through pages, takes care of all the knowledge, and never bores you with a summary.

Engagements - they are like a prayer before eating, best quick.

All I can say is, it's a sort of kinship, as though there is a family tree of grief. On this branch, the lost children, on this the suicided parents, here the beloved mentally ill siblings. When something terrible happens, you discover all of the sudden that you have a new set of relatives, people with whom you can speak in the shorthand of cousins.