“So what were you [Sonea] and Dorrien discussing before?' Akkarin asked.She turned to regard him. 'Discussing?''Outside the farmhouse when I was buying the food.''Oh. Then. Nothing.'He smiled and nodded. 'Nothing. Amazing subject, that one. Produces such fascinating reactions in people.”

“When one has read a book, I think there is nothing so nice as discussing it with some one else - even though it sometimes produces rather fierce arguments.”

“A man who has nothing in particular to recommend him discusses all sorts of subjects at random as if he knew everything.”

“Once they were librarians, but that is a subject they will only discuss if heavily intoxicated.”

“She started thinking about all the euphemisms for death, all the anxious taboos that had always fascinated her. It was too bad you could never have an intelligent discussion on the subject. People were either too young or too old, or else they didn't have time.”

“I nod and smile and smile and nod, and when she turns away, I form a gun with my hand, place it to my temple, and pull the trigger. This girl is starved for attention. It's amazing to me when people are totally unaware of how bad they are at socializing.”