“Reading gives one something to think about other than one's self.”

“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.”

“To live in peace, one must always give a damn about what others think.”

“I think all happiness depends on the energy to assume the mask of some other life, on a re-birth as something not one's self.”

“Reading is going toward something that is about to be, and no one yet knows what it will be.”

“I sometimes think that the American story is the one about the reading of the will.”

“Let's give them something to talk about, other than H A I R!”

“To write is to read one's own self”

“There's a lot of talk these days about giving children self-esteem. It's not something you can give; it's something they have to build. Coach Graham worked in a no-coddling zone. Self-esteem? He knew there was really only one way to teach kids how to develop it; You give them something they can't do, they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating the process.”

“It's not right for one friend to do all the giving and the other to do all the taking: that's not read friendship.”