“But, if I sample this pleasure so prudently and circumspectly, it will no longer be a pleasure.”

“For all my longer works (i.e. the novels) I write chapter outlines so I can have the pleasure of departing from them later on.”

“PAIN was no longer a cause of suffering, but a source of pleasure, Because they were redeeming humanity from its sins. Pain becomes joy, the meaning of life, pleasure..”

“Joy is like sex – it begins and ends. I want pleasure. I want to be contended, but happiness? I no longer fall into that trap.”

“Cycling is so hard, the suffering is so intense, that it’s absolutely cleansing. The pain is so deep and strong that a curtain descends over your brain….Once; someone asked me what pleasure I took in riding for so long. ‘PLEASURE???? I said.’ ‘I don’t understand the question.’ I didn’t do it for the pleasure; I did it for the pain.”

“Reading is one of life's great pleasures; talking about books keeps their worlds alive for longer.”