There would be no Sherlock Holmes if it were not for serial publication.

This has been her problem all her life: picturing other people's responses. She's too good at it. She can picture the response of anyone--other people's reactions, their emotions, their criticisms, their demands--but somehow they don't reciprocate. Maybe they can't. Maybe they lack the gift, if it is one.

Come away with me, he said, we will live on a desert island. I said, I am a desert island. It was not what he had in mind.

A home filled with nothing but yourself. It's heavy, that lightness. It's crushing, that emptiness.

War is what happens when language fails.

A word after a word after a word is power.

If we read books all the time we would be very unhealthy, as we would not get any fresh air, exercise, or contact with nature. Also we would not spend time with other people. There are a lot of plusses to reading - it's an interactive brain workout - but like everything else that's beneficial in moderation, overdoses can be dangerous.