You know, people always warn children about taking candy from strange adults. But they never warn us adults about taking candy from strange children.

Whether it’s chocolate or socks, the rule is the same; the darker the better.

It was like walking into a treasure trove of books, hoarded by pirate librarians.

Not all novelists are power-hungry madman. Some are power-hungry madwomen.

Generally speaking, books don't cause much harm. Except when you read them, that is. Then they cause all kinds of problems.

But there were other, vaguer, harder-to-pin-down feelings, like: a pit in the stomach that means something is either really good or really bad or both. A feeling of being old and young at once. A sense of beginnings and endings happening at the same time. A certainty that your life is changing, but an uncertainty about how it's changing and whether you want it to.

Q: Why do you like chocolate so much? A: The answer, clearly, is because I've tasted chocolate.