“A plate of apples, an open fire, and a jolly good book are a fair substitute for heaven.”

“The sound of a crackling fire going in the fireplace, a nice warm blanket and a good book is just about heaven for me.”

“Books are good enough in their own way but they are a mighty bloodless substitute for life.”

“I Saw A Jolly HunterI saw a jolly hunter With a jolly gun Walking in the country In the jolly sun. In the jolly meadow Sat a jolly hare. Saw the jolly hunter. Took jolly care. Hunter jolly eager- Sight of jolly prey. Forgot gun pointing Wrong jolly way. Jolly hunter jolly head Over heels gone. Jolly old safety catch Not jolly on. Bang went the jolly gun. Hunter jolly dead. Jolly hare got clean away. Jolly good, I said.”

“Henry Mitchell, in his book One Man's Garden, observes that "it is not important for a garden to be beautiful" in everyone's eyes. But "it is extremely important for the gardener to think it is a fair substitute for Eden." Perhaps this is an overstatement, or perhaps it is a theological truth.”

“There is indeed a heaven on this earth, a heaven which we inhabit when we read a good book.”