He spent his life immersed in books to the cost of everything else, even personal relationships. "Friends," he'd once said, "are probably great, but I have forty thousands friends of my own already, and each of them needs my attention.

Death, I had discovered long ago, was available in varying flavors, and none of them particularly palatable.

I could almost see common sense and denial fighting away at each other within her. In the end, denial won, as it so often does.

the best lies to tell are the ones people want to believe

Mr. McGregor's a nasty piece of work, isn't he? Quite the Darth Vader of children's literature.

DCI Horner's advice to Jack Spratt: "Remember, m'boy," his old boss had said, eyes twinkling, "that if anyone tries to get the better of you, stand up straight and say to yourself in an imperious air, 'I am the new Mrs. de Winter now!' You'll find it works wonders.

After all, reading is arguably a far more creative and imaginative process than writing; when the reader creates emotion in their head, or the colors of the sky during the setting sun, or the smell of a warm summer's breeze on their face, they should reserve as much praise for themselves as they do for the writer - perhaps more.