“I am too fond of reading books to care to write them.”

“I believe I am to have enough to live on for about eighteen months at anyrate, so that if I may not write beautiful books, I may at least read beautifulbooks; and what joy can be greater?”

“I don't care about the London season! It is too matrimonial. People are either hunting for husbands, or hiding from them.”

“When I am in trouble, eating is the only thing that consoles me. Indeed, when I am in really great trouble, as any one who knows me intimately will tell you, I refuse everything except food and drink. At the present moment I am eating muffins because I am unhappy. Besides, I am particularly fond of muffins.”

“I never read a book I must review; it prejudices you so.”

“In old days books were written by men of letters and read by the public. Nowadays books are written by the public and read by nobody.”

“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”