Hopeless heart that thrives on paradox; that longs for the beloved and is secretly relieved when the beloved is not there.

I keep telling this story - different people, different places, different times - but always you, always me, always this story, because a story is a tight rope between two worlds.

You said, 'I love you.' Why is it that the most unoriginal thing we can say to one another is still the thing we long to hear?

Knowing that books are something that is hidden, that almost has that alchemical quality to it. There is a secret society in here, and if you belong to it, you'll be able to transform your lead into gold. I have that rather magical sense about books - that they do, somehow, have special powers.

Quoting her mother: The trouble with a book is you never know what's in it until it's too late!

Every journey conceals another journey within its lines: the path not taken and the forgotten angle.

I love the apparent quiet of reading a book. You sit there; you're not really moving. It looks very solitary. It looks very boring, but actually it's the most exciting place because it's going on for you, and you're in that relationship. In that sense, it's like being with a lover. Nobody else can intrude on that space. It's the two of you. It's your own world.