“I never read prefaces, and it is not much good writing things just for people to skip. I wonder other authors have never thought of this.”

“The preface? Why would he waste time with the preface? Skip the preface and move on to the meat of the thing!”

“Not much good has ever been prefaced by variations of "Have a seat." I thought of headmasters' offices and electric chairs.”

“Readers read to escape from the world, Author's write to never have to go back to it again.”

“Reading. The erotics of reading for me -- its moment of trembling pleasure -- lie in those times when I realise that what I am reading is just what I was about to say. It is a moment of jealousy and disappointment, as if the occasion had been stolen from me, but it is a moment of excitement, too -- because I think I would like to try and say it better, because now the monologue in my mind has become dialogue. My immediate impulse is to write something, anything, notes to tell me the significance of what I have read, an appreciative letter to the author, the first sentences in a preface to a book that will never be written. Th archives of my readings are monumentally high. I can never let these erotic moments go. They are the paper trail of my mind.”

“I try to avoid having thoughts. They lead to other thoughts, and—if you’re not careful—those lead to actions. Actions make you tired. I have this on rather good authority from someone who once read it in a book.”