The goddam movies. They can ruin you. I'm not kidding

I didn't want any degrees if all the ill-read literates and radio announcers and pedagogical dummies I knew had them by the peck.

There's a marvelous peace in not publishing, there's a stillness. When you publish, the world thinks you owe something. If you don't publish, they don't know what you're doing. You can keep it for yourself.

I think that one of these days," he said, "you're going to have to find out where you want to go. And then you've got to start going there. But immediately. You can't afford to lose a minute. Not you.

Girls. You never know what they're going to think.

It was the last game of the year and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn't win.

I have scars on my hands from touching certain people.