My idea of a good novel was one you made enough money out of to buy a greenhouse.

These weren't cheap modern books; these were books bound in leather, and not just leather, but leather from clever cows who had given their lives for literature after a happy existence in the very best pastures.

Every step is a first step if it's a step in the right direction.

I'd like to sell a lot of books.

...no-one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away... The span of someone's life, they say, is only the core of their actual existence.

If anyone wants one my advise is to go where the orthodox Jews shop, because when it comes to a big black fedora, the guys with ringlets and long black coats definitely know a stylish hat when they see one. You want to get it home and use a hot steaming kettle, and bob's your uncle - you have a hat with all the right curves!

Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.