Being a hero, the man had observed, is largely a matter of knowing one’s cues.

The problem with growing up is that once you're grown up, the people who aren't grown up aren't fun anymore.

His crush went from exciting to depressing, as if he'd gone from the first blush of infatuation to the terminal nostalgia of a former lover without even the temporary relief of an actual relationship in between.

It's a terrible thing for a book, when you feel like you're supposed to like it.

I guess I was raised in a household with a lot of reverence for the physical sanctity of books. You didn't destroy books.

When I was 35 I realized that I was still thinking a lot about what it would be like to go to Narnia. To really go - not just in a daydream, or in a children's book, but what it would actually feel like, physically, psychologically, every other way. The idea was haunting me.

You don’t learn about yourself by being alone, you learn about yourself from other people.