“Youth is the only season for enjoyment, and the first twenty-five years of one's life are worth all the rest of the longest life of man, even though these be spent in penury and contempt, and the rest in possession of wealth, honors, respectability.”

“A little library, growing larger every year, is an honorable part of a man's possessions. A library is not a luxury. It is one of the necessities of a full life.”

“I spent the first twenty-five years of my life apologizing for people like Harald because we're family. Then I discovered that being related is no guarantee of love and I had a few reasons to defend Harald.”

“All my possessions for a moment of time. This was Queen Elizabeth I’s last words. Rest assured that he who has the longest time is the richest of this universe!”

“What was your favorite day of the year? The summer solstice. June twenty-first. The longest day of the year.”

“Respect your characters, even the ­minor ones. In art, as in life, everyone is the hero of their own particular story; it is worth thinking about what your minor characters' stories are, even though they may intersect only slightly with your protagonist's.”