“There was no end to the things that happened to sheep unless they had a shepherd who cared more about them than anything else in the world.”

“Tolkien understood about the things that happen after the end. Because this is after the end, this is all the Scouring of the Shire, this is figuring out how to live in the time that wasn’t supposed to happen after the glorious last stand. I saved the world, or I think I did, and look, the world is still here, with sunsets and interlibrary loans. And it doesn’t care about me any more than the Shire cared about Frodo.”

“It is the duty of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to skin them.”

“In the long run what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own destinies.”

“What I wished more than anything was that the thing hadn't happened at all, and I thought that by not mentioning it I'd be doing everyone else a favor.”

“In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own Personal Legends.”