“To my faithful readers, because a book is like a piethe only thing more satisfying than cooking up the story is knowing that somebody might be out there eating it up with a spoon.”

“Polly had a gift for baking pies, and she poured her heart and soul into every one she made.”

“Being a humble person, she gave her pie shop a humble namePIE.”

“Alice wondered if her mother was aware that she wasnt the only one in town whod come down with a bad case of Blueberry Fever.”

“Lardo was getting on in years, and his big belly tended to slow him down a bit.”

“As a rule, she didn’t like boys very much, but she had to admit, Charlie was actually pretty nice.”

“You know what they say about boys next door...”

“That was the moment when Alice knew for sure that she and Charlie Erdling would be friends for the rest of their lives.”

“Lollypop...the passion contained merely kissesplaced upon lips, neck and cheekthese young lovers of the castleof which our fairytale speaks...”

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for t...”

“You know Balbec so well - do you have friends in the area?'I have friends wherever there are companies of trees, wounded but not vanquished, which huddle together with touching obstinacy to implore...”

“Things that matter are not easy. Feelings of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying youre friends is easy. Being friends is not.”

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever.”