“Isn't that the essence of literature?...Our ability to identify with characters, no matter that they're separated from us by thousands of miles and hundreds of lifetimes. We may have no Mount Vesuvius looming over us. It may not be lava and ashes we fear. But we look at these forms, and we know what they felt. ”

“When we have no families, we must find support elsewhere. Sometimes in strangers. We're all alone on this earth. We must take any hand that's offered us. I offer you mine...I'll be your friend, if you wish. The faithful kind. —Elva”

“A picture tells a thousand words. But you get a thousand pictures from someone's voice.”

“Television, I'm afraid, has isolated us more than race, class, or ethnicity.”

“The books we enjoy as children stay with us forever -- they have a special impact. Paragraph after paragraph and page after page, the author must deliver his or her best work.”

“The word "paradise" came out of my mouth, without thinking.”

“But determination can make the miraculous possible.”