“Once you've put one of his [Henry James] books down, you simply can't pick it up again.”

“On a book by Henry James: "Once you put it down, you simply can't pick it up.”

“Before one knows it, he's nearly through with the book and then must continue so as to 'find out what happens at the end.' These are the sort of book of which publishers say 'Once you pick it up, you can't put it down,'and one of the major reasons you don't want to put it down is that you don't ever want to pick it up again.”

“You can't simply put a book down or away.”

“In order to pick something up, you've got to put something down.”

“What my parents kept failing to understand was how happy I was when I was alone with my books. There was no pressure to perform or be cute, and books never disappoint-- unless, of course, you've chosen a bad one. But then, you can always put it down and pick up another one without any repercussions.”