The catcher in the rye... that's all I really want to be.

He said I was unequipped to meet life because I had no sense of humor.

The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.

You don't know how to talk to people you don't like. Don't love, really. You can't live in the world with such strong likes and dislikes.

The rest, with very little exaggeration, was books. Meant-to-be-picked-up books. Permanently-left-behind books. Uncertain-what-to-do-with books. But books, books. Tall cases lined three walls of the room, filled to and beyond capacity. The overflow had been piled in stacks on the floor. There was little space left for walking, and none whatever for pacing.

This is a people shooting hat," I said. "I shoot people in this hat.

People never think anything is anything really. I'm getting goddam sick of it.