Desire is never final, desire is imprecise and impractical [...]

When the male organ of a man stands erect, two thirds of his intelect go away. And one third of his religion.

The library was the place I went to find out what there was to know. It was absolutely essential.

It's not in good taste to have talking ghosts in a grown-up novel.

Our children will be born of our actions. Our accidents will become their destinies. Oh, the actions will remain. It is a simple matter of what you will do when the chips are down, my friend. When the fat lady is singing. When the walls are falling in, and the sky is dark, and the ground is rumbling. In that moment our actions will define us. And it makes no difference whether you are being watched by Allah, Jesus, Buddah, or whether you are not. On cold days a man can see his breath, on a hot day he can't. On both occasions, the man breathes.

In a whisper he began begging for—and, as the sun set, received—the concession people always beg for: a little more time.

…maybe the whole Internet will simply become like Facebook: falsely jolly, fake-friendly, self-promoting, slickly disingenuous….” - Zadie Smith