“People dread silence because it is transparent; like clear water, which reveals every obstaclethe used, the dead, the drowned, silence reveals the cast-off words and thoughts dropped in to obscure ...”

“It is my trade," he said. "I work for the bean family, and every day there are deaths among the beans, mostly from thirst. They shrivel and die, they go blind in their one black eye, and I put them...”

“They all seemed hungry, happy, and healthy enough in their buzzingoh the days were hot, and the noise of bees filled the air that was dusty with pollen and sun haze, and there were tiny black flies...”

“They all seemed hungry, happy, and healthy enough in their buzzing—oh the days were hot, and the noise of bees filled the air that was dusty with pollen and sun haze, and there were tiny black flie...”

“Some experiences are universal. A girl is a girl whether she lives in West Omaha or Sweet Valley. Books are often far more than books.”

“A half-read book is a half-finished love affair.”

“The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,And all the sweet serenity of books”

“In what world did you think you could get away with this?" Jalal seethed. "To my cousin? To my family?" His gleaming hilt continued its punishing onslaught.”

“You cannot capture warmth in a toast, but you can capture toast in a warmth.”

“Well, sir, do you mean to remain there, commending my fathers taste in wine, or do you mean to accompany me to Ashtead?Set off for Ashtead at this hour, when I have been traveling for two days? sai...”

“Zane sighed. Jovan and Mother were just the same. Maybe later meant no.”

“She thought about her cousins in Oklahoma, which was odd, since she'd never spent much time with them. She didn't even know them very well. Now she was sorry about that.”

“You know, all my songs are relatives, brothers, sisters, cousins.”