Gabrielle Zevin

My life is in these books, he wants to tell her. Read these and know my heart.

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Since i couldn't remember the real first time i'd lost my virginity, this would have become my de facto first time. I wanted a better story then: I did it with this boy who i wasn't very into and who had mysterious Gaterade breath; in his room decorated with sports equipment; at least he was nice enough to provide condoms and get his ancient, horny dog to leave us along.

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It was funny how dad was more honest in a book that anyone in the world could pick up and read than he could be talking to me. Or maybe it was sad. One or the other. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

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His heart is too full, and no words to release it.

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They should tell you when you're born: have a suitcase heart, be ready to travel.

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But then again, maybe 'I will' is nicer. It has the future in it. 'I do' just has the present.

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Someday, you may think of marrying. Pick someone who thinks you're the only person in the room.

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Why are you crying?I was reading.

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It was odd to have something so personal out there in that way, but the good thing about art is that no one necessarily knows what you mean by it anyway.

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All women are many women! I'm afraid you've never known very much about women.

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People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.

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And then, despite the fact that A. J. does not believe in God, he closes his eyes and thanks whomever, the higher power, with all his porcupine heart.

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A place is not really a place without a bookstore.

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I do not like postmodernism, postapocalyptic settings, postmortem narrators, or magic realism. I rarely respond to supposedly clever formal devices, multiple fonts, pictures where they shouldn't be— basically, gimmicks of any kind. I find literary fiction about the Holocaust or any other major world tragedy to be distasteful— nonfiction only, please. I do not like genre mash-ups à la the literary detective novel or the literary fantasy. Literary should be literary, and genre should be genre, and crossbreeding rarely results in anything satisfying. I do not like children's books, especially ones with orphans, and I prefer not to clutter my shelves with young adult. I do not like anything over four hundred pages or under one hundred fifty pages. I am repulsed by ghostwritten novels by reality television stars, celebrity picture books, sports memoirs, movie tie-in editions, novelty items, and— I imagine this goes without saying— vampires.

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They had only ever discussed books but what, in this life, is more personal than books?

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I can promise you books and conversation and all my heart.

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When I was in my twenties and broke, I'd buy books before food. A meal will sustain you for a few hours, a good book will sustain you for life.

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It's hard to believe. Where does the times go?' Betty sighs. 'I've always hated that phrase. It makes it would like time went on a holiday, and is expected back any day now. Time flies is another one I hate. Apparently, time does quite a bit of traveling, though.

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If this were a novel, I'd stop reading right now. I'd throw it across the room.

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There's a difference between being alive and living.

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Quotes by Gabrielle Zevin