“I saw a film today, oh boy,The English army had just won the war,A crowd of people turned away,But I just had to look, having read the book...”

“But they (the infantry) had no use for boys of twelve and thirteen, and before I had a chance in another war, the desire to kill people to whom I had not been introduced had passed away.”

“The first time I read an excellent book, it is to me just as if I had gained a new friend. When I read a book over I have perused before, it resembles the meeting with an old one.”

“I just don't understand why some people think that every book you read ought to be "improving". No one goes to the cinema with the sole aim of having their mind expanded – entertainment is a fine raison d'etre for films so why not books?”

“I had to read Wuthering Heights for English and I never enjoyed a book in all my life as much as that one.”

“The war was just a mile or so away, and I wondered at my simply walking to it, as I might walk to the market or to school. Today I will walk to the war.”