Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

"As always, one of her books was next to her."

"If they killed him tonight, at least he would die alive."

"Usually we walk around constantly believing ourselves. "I'm okay"we say. "I'm alright". But sometimes the truth arrives on you and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it isn't even an answer--it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced."

"Even death has a heart."

"Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and they would smile at the beauty of destruction."

"They say that war is death's best friend, but I must offer you a different point of view on that one. To me, war is like the new boss who expects the impossible. He stands over your shoulder repeating one thin, incessantly: 'Get it done, get it done.' So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more."

"Grimly, she realized that clocks don't make a sound that even remotely resembles ticking, tocking. It was more the sound of a hammer, upside down, hacking methodically at the earth. It was the sound of a grave."

"A DEFINITION NOT FOUNDIN THE DICTIONARYNot leaving: an act of trust and love,often deciphered by children"

"Even death has a heart."

"It kills me sometimes, how people die."

"A halo surrounded the grim reaper nun, Sister Maria. (By the way-I like this human idea of the grim reaper. I like the scythe. It amuses me.)"

"His soul sat up. It met me. Those kinds of souls always do - the best ones. The ones who rise up and say "I know who you are and I am ready. Not that I want to go, of course, but I will come."Those souls are always light because more of them have been put out. More of them have already found their way to other places."

"Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day."

"So much good, so much evil. Just add water."

"I want words at my funeral. But I guess that means you need life in your life."

"It felt as though the whole globe was dressed in snow. Like it has pulled it on, the way you pull on a sweater. Next to the train line, footprints were sunken to their shins. Trees wore blankets of ice. As you may expect, someone has died."

"Can a person steal happiness? Or is just another internal, infernal human trick?"

"I want words at my funeral. But I guess that means you need life in your life."

"I could introduce myself properly, but it's not really necessary. You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables. It suffices to say that at some point in time, I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away."

"Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness."