They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad that I'm going to miss mine by just a few days.

Vacation cruises are advertised as luxurious journeys to exotic places, but a chief pleasure is the reading of books ... . On steamer chairs topside or poolside, in the lounges, everywhere you see men and women with their noses in books, devouring them for hours.

English is the perfect language for preachers because it allows you to talk until you think of what to say.

You can go your whole life and not need math or physics for a minute, but the ability to tell a joke is always handy.

When writing loses touch with the beautiful surface of the world, it loses its way. You always want to be in touch with how things look and what people say and what they call their dogs.

Childhood is the small town everyone came from.

One reads books in order to gain the privilege of living more than one life. People who don't read are trapped in a mine shaft, even if they think the sun is shining.