“I think you learn more if you're laughing at the same time.”

“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.”

“Men are more interesting in books than they are in real life.”

“What on earth did you say to Isola? She stopped in on her way to pick up Pride and Prejudice and to berate me for never telling her about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Why hadn't she known...”

“Think of it! We could have gone on longing for one another and pretending not to notice forever. This obsession with dignity can ruin your life if you let it.”

“Then I imagined a lifetime of having to cry to get him to be kind, and I went back to no again.”

“It suddenly struck me that Dawsey is a lonesome person. I think it may be that he has always been lonely, but he didn't mind before, and now he minds.”