“A little-known fact about me: I read all the time.”

“A little known fact: I read all the time. books were the one thing that got me out of Gatlin, even if it was only for a little while.”

“You can read minds, and you didn't tell me?” Link stared at me like he just found out I was the Silver Surfer. He rubbed his head nervously. “Hey, man, all that stuff about Lena? I was yankin’ your chain.” He looked away. “Are you doin’ it now? You're doin’ it, aren't you? Dude, get out of my head.” He backed away from me and into the bookshelf.“I can't read your mind, you idiot.”

“I stared at the creased map on my wall, the thin green lineconnecting all the places I had read about. There they were, all thecities of my imaginary future, held together with tape and marker andpins. In six months, a lot had changed. There was no thin green linethat could lead me to my future anymore. Just a girl.”

“The more I learned about the world I thought I knew and all the ones I didn't, the more everything threaded together, leading everywhere and nowhere at the same time.”

“No, books. She would have maybe twenty going at a time, lying all over our house--on the kitchen table, by her bed, the bathroom, our car, her bags, a little stack at the edge of each stair. And she'd use anything she could find for a bookmark. My missing sock, an apple core, her reading glasses, another book, a fork.”

“If you want to become a better writer, you have to write. But you also have to read. One of the things I love to read about is the craft of writing — advice, tips, and techniques from other writers.”