When a person's last response was Saumensch or Saukerl or Arschloch, you knew you had them beaten.

Crowds of questions stream through me like lines of people exiting a soccer ground or a concert. They push and shove and trip. Some make their way around. Some remain in their seats, waiting for their opportunity.

Only in today's sick society can a man be persecuted for reading too many books.

No matter how many times she was told that she was loved, there was no recognition that the proof was in the abandonment.

It's a lot easier, she realized, to be on the verge of something than to actually be it. This would still take time.

When I find research really rewarding is when one piece of information gives you an idea for a story. That's when it's great.

The book thief has struck for the first time – the beginning of an illustrious career.