“Even now, I hoped he would take my hand, and when he didn't, I felt my empty hand as if it were missing a finger.”

“I furrowed my eyebrows."Are you looking at my bosom, sir?"The eyes snapped back up. "At such a serious moment? What do you take me for?""A rogue, I believe." I tried not to smile.”

“In my heart, I love books, I love writing. I love the lines of letters on a page.”

“You ought to use a little of that siren song on Alan, my pearl. The boy needs to loosen his cravat.”

“Once you commit to something, you just manage through each moment. And nothing truly awful happened. The voyage over was uneventful. I found work right away, just not very good work. The worst thing wasn't something terrible, it was the lack of anything wonderful.”

“It was an irresistible novelty having a conversation about books with a stranger.”

“Sometimes, before you make any plans or resolutions, before you declare your heroic intent to persevere, you just have to cry.”