“That's the thing about a great book. Every time you read it, it's different, because you're different. You've changed since the last time you picked it up, things have happened to you.”

“The book identifies you as part of the tribe. On the opposite extreme, there are people who will walk up to you when you’re reading a book because they think you’re lonely.”

“People who read books in public places are regarded with suspicion because they appear self-sufficient. When you seem self-sufficient, other people think that you think you're better than them, and they get resentful.”

“I hear what many of you are saying: We don’t have the time, we are busy. Well Nobody Has Time, Everyone Is Busy. In the time it took you to read this post, your life just got a minute shorter. That is precisely why we read (and why some of us write): because life is short and finite, we want more, and literature is the distillation of all those lives we will not lead.”

“Someday you will look back on all the awful stuff that's happening to you, and fondly smile. Doesn't say much about the future, does it?”

“Being good does make a difference. You will not receive praise or payment for it, and other people will mistake your goodness for weakness, but it resonates among people you won't even meet.”

“Yes, it’s true that you can’t learn everything from books. But you do learn something about everything.”