“The sight of a palm tree silhouetted against the sky made even his life feel like a movie”

“dragonflies circled me, the sun knifing off the brilliant blues and yellows of their bodies.”

“Years later, I remember the waxy taste of the yellow paint, the papery taste of splintered wood, the sharp metallic of the graphite.”

“My sisters and I stand on the deck, the shale tile cool against the soles of our feet - for a week it seems we never have to wear shoes - and take turns twirling, the matching turquoise silk skirts...”

“I remember a new heaviness in my body, but maybe that's the work of time and my looking back.”

“Mark ran his fingers over the bindings and whispered words, written long ago, words that wriggled through the aged leather, trembled beneath his touch. What lives and loves, hopes and dreams, death...”

“When I read books, it is like I have met the sacred souls.”

“Non lo avevo mai compreso. Era ottimista sempre e io ... io mi lasciavo trascinare dalle emozioni, mi si abbattevano addosso senza poterci fare nulla.”

“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”

“Some read to learn, some to laugh, and some to live.”

“Like many writers, I lived inside of books as a child.”

“If difficult times teach us the most important lessons, we should then learn to read difficult books.”