“Without opium, plans, marriages and journeys appear to me just as foolish as if someone falling out of a window were to hope to make friends with the occupants of the room before which he passes.”

“Books are the windows through which the soul looks out. A home without books is like a room without windows.”

“[He] turned his back on the window, not knowing why he had gone to it, not knowing what he hoped to see, and just at that moment, when there was no one at the window any more and only a little lamp of colored glass at the back of the room flickering, it appeared.”

“How could I ask for a better friend? Someone who gives me a backup plan. Instead of someone who makes me the backup plan.”

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day.”

“I hope you fall in love with someone nice and have a good marriage. I might end up dying without knowing what it's like to be in love.”