“When had all this conformity and sameness set in? How had it happened? When had the varied carols turned into a single corporate advertising jingle?”

“Even thought she saw tattoos everywhere, they continued to fascinate her. How bizarre to be branded like a box of cereal. Didn't people mind being counted as just one more product on a shelf? There had to be more to a person than that.”

“When King Lear dies in act five, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He has written, 'He dies.' No more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential piece of dramatic literature is, 'He dies.' Now I am not asking you to be happy at my leaving but all I ask you to do is to turn the page and let the next story begin.-- Mr. Magorium”

“Turn the page, continue reading, and let the next story begin...”

“There are a million things one might do with a block of wood. But what do you think might happen if someone, just once, believed in it?”

“When King Lear dies in Act V, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written "He dies." That's all, nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is "He dies." It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with "He dies." And yet every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know it's only natural to be sad, but not because of the words "He dies." but because of the life we saw prior to the words.”

“Birds fascinated her. How did they do that, seeming to fly with one mind, each of them able to anticipate what the others would do?”