“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home.”

“I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.”

“I am a humanist because I think humanity can, with constant moral guidance, create reasonably decent societies. I think that young people who want to understand the world can profit from the works ...”

“Public libraries have been a mainstay of my life. They represent an individual's right to acquire knowledge; they are the sinews that bind civilized societies the world over. Without libraries, I w...”

“I wondered how a man ever got an English girl into bed. What did they do with her hockey stick?”

“The South Pacific is memorable because when you are in the islands you simply cannot ignore nature. You cannot avoid looking up at the stars, large as apples on a new tree. You cannot deafen your e...”

“There is a light within our soul that burns brighter than the sun. And we ignore it.”

“It's not much. You begin by thinking there is something extraordinary about it. But you'll find out, when you've been out in the world a while longer, unhappiness is the commonest thing there is.”

“A man can gasp out his life beside you-and you feel none of it. Pity, Sympathy, sure-but you don't feel the pain. Your belly is whole and that's what counts. A half-yard away someone's world is snu...”