"All children mythologise their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won’t be the truth: it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story."
"A good story is always more dazzling than a broken piece of truth."
"Of course I loved books more than people."
"There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic."
"There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere."
"I've nothing against people who love truth. Apart from the fact that they make dull companions."