I watch the beauty for as long as I can, then turn and face the rest of it.

I try hard and aim big. People can hate or love my books but they can never accuse me of not trying.

There were people everywhere on the city street, but the stranger could not have been more alone if it were empty.

You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue.

Do we spend most of our days trying to remember or to forget? Do we spend most of our time running towards or away from our lives?

She was battered and beaten up, and not smiling this time. Liesel could see it on her face. Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes had blackened. Cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin. All from the words. From Liesel's words.

After another ten minutes, the gates of thievery would open just a crack, and Liesel Meminger would widen them a little further and squeeze through. ***TWO QUESTIONS*** Would the gates shut behind her? Or would they have the goodwill to let her back out? As Liesel would discover, a good thief requires many things. Stealth. Nerve. Speed. More important than any of those things, however, was one final requirement. Luck. Actually. Forget the ten minutes. The gates open now.