The irregular and intimate quality of things made entirely by the human hand.

A child's attitude toward everything is an artist's attitude.

In a few hours one could cover that incalculable distance; from the winter country and homely neighbours, to the city where the air trembled like a tuning-fork with unimaginable possibilities.

The emptiness was intense, like the stillness in a great factory when the machinery stops running.

Sometimes falling in love may look like pure madness to those not experiencing it but that's only because they're not involved. Just because other people don't understand your feelings doesn't mean they're not real or they're not important. You have to trust yourself. Feel what you feel and don't worry about anyone else. Love is about you and your significant other, remember that.

Nothing mattered ... but writing books, and living the kind of life that made it possible to write them.

Where there is great love there are always miracles.