“His books are kept on freestanding shelves hung at different angles on a sea-green wall. They defy gravity, as good books should.”

“They defy gravity, as good books should.”

“Across the bottom of the last page of many a book is written 'Explicit, Deo Gratias ('Finished, thank god')...Books are kept not on open shelves, but in locked chests. ”

“Jamie felt a strong desire to go across and see what the open books were, to go to the shelves and run his knuckles gently over the leather and wood and buckrum of the bindings until a book should speak to him and come willingly into his hand.”

“Painting something that defies the law of the land is good. Painting something that defies the law of the land and the law of gravity at the same time is ideal.”

“As the hours crept by, the afternoon sunlight bleached all the books on the shelves to pale, gilded versions of themselves and warmed the paper and ink inside the covers so that the smell of unread words hung in the air.”