She wanted out of the decorating scheme.

Some cities have fallen into ruin and some are built upon ruins but others contain their own ruins while still growing.

The worst thing about religion was religious people.

And in some of the houses, people were getting old and sick and were dying, leaving others to grieve. It was happening all the time, unnoticed, and it was the thing that really mattered. What really mattered in life, what gave it weight, was death.

I know that attaching memories to books may be going out of the world, but while it lasts, it's a strong record of your life.

What if you had faith and performed good works, what if you died and went to heaven, and what if all the people you met there were people you didn't like?

She could become a spinster, like Emily Dickinson, writing poems full of dashes and brilliance, and never gaining weight.