Amplified by the still of night, the book opened -- a gust of wind.

A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.

… it was raining on Himmel Street when the world ended for Liesel Meminger. The sky was dripping. Like a tap that a child has tried its hardest to turn off but hasn’t quite managed.

Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day.

Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness.

Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are.

I have to say that although it broke my heart, I was, and still am, glad I was there.

Please, trust me, I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the A's. Just don't ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me.

I guess that’s the beauty of books. When they finish they don’t really finish.

Sometimes I just survive. But sometimes I stand on the rooftop of my existence, arms stretched out, begging for more.

If only she could be so oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter.

If an apology is followed by an excuse or a reason, it means they are going to commit same mistake again they just apologized for.

Change must start from the individual. And the individual must want and feel ready to make such change.

Authority in its very nature prevents the full awareness of oneself and therefore ultimately destroys freedom

Pm convinced that it's energy and humor. The two of them combined equal charm.

Truthfulness itself is almost medication, even when it’s served without advice or insight.

I’m very determined. If I decide that something is worth doing, then I’ll put my heart and soul to it. The whole ground can be against me, but if I know it is right, I’ll do it.

I've been a road-rat since I got my driver's licence at 16, so I've probably gone across America 20 times.

The past is able to close round certain moments, as if they were seeds, and deliver them again fresh and living in the present.

Well, I think if more people had more applause, it would make them feel better. I often give my wife a round of applause. If the meal is very good I give her a standing ovation.

I don't wait to be struck by lightning and I don't need certain slants of light in order to be able to write.