Words are like leaves,. . .like people really, fond of their own society.

There are a lot of idiots in this country, and they deserve representation as much as the next man.

Do I have to talk to insane people?" "You're a librarian now. I'm afraid it's mandatory.

A missing arm might ruin your symmetry. Personal asymmetry where I come from is a big taboo and brings great shame on the family and sometimes even the whole village." "Do you then have to kill yourself over it or something?" "Goodness me, no! The family and village just have to learn to be ashamed--and nuts to them for being so oversensitive.

...being written by someone who might not quite understand the subconscious nuance of the character leaves us in varying degrees of flatness.

Take no heed of her.... She reads a lot of books.

Whenever I'm giving talks, I always ask people to think of the most obscure questions because I enjoy those the most. I always get the same questions: Why does Pickwick say "plock" and will there be a movie? I like the really obscure questions because there's so much in the books. There are tons and tons of references and I like when people get the little ones and ask me about them. It's good for the audience [and also] they realize there's more there.