"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all."
— Emily Dickinson

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
— Groucho Marx (The Essential Groucho)

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
— Albert Einstein

"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book."
— Groucho Marx

"I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal."
— Jane Austen

"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library."
— Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. "
— Albert Einstein

"There are books by which the backs and covers are by far the best parts."
— Charles Dickens

"She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain."
— Louisa May Alcott (Work: A Story of Experience)

"Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?"
— Graham Chapman (Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

"You see, I don't belive that libraries should be drab places where people sit in silence, that has been the main reason for our policy of employing wild animals as librarians."
— Graham Chapman

"The cure for boredom is curiosity.
There is no cure for curiosity."
— Dorothy Parker

"Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone."
— Dorothy Parker

"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes."
— Jack Handey

"For mad scientists who keep brains in jars, here’s a tip: why not add a slice of lemon to each jar, for freshness?"
— Jack Handey

"If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint."
— Edward Hopper

"I am a galley slave to pen and ink."
— Honoré de Balzac

"When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes."
— Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus

"Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else. "
— Judy Garland

"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart"
— Anne Frank

"A book is a garden carried in one's pocket."
— Chinese Proverb

"It was a meal that we shall never forget; more accurately, it was several meals that we shall never forget, because it went beyond the gastronomic frontiers of anything we had ever experienced, both in quantity and length. It started with homemade pizza - not one, but three: anchovy, mushroom, and cheese, and it was obligatory to have a slice of each. Plates were then wiped with pieces torn from the two-foot loaves in the middle of the table, and the next course came out. There were pates of rabbit, boar, and thrush. There was a chunky, pork-based terrine laced with marc. There were saucissons spotted with peppercorns. There were tiny sweet onions marinated in a fresh tomato sauce. Plates were wiped once more and duck was brought in... We had entire breasts, entire legs, covered in a dark, savory gravy and surrounded by wild mushrooms.

We sat back, thankful that we had been able to finish, and watched with something close to panic as plates were wiped yet again and a huge, steaming casserole was placed on the table. This was the specialty of Madame our hostess - a rabbit civet of the richest, deepest brown - and our feeble requests for small portions were smilingly ignored. We ate it. We ate the green salad with knuckles of bread fried in garlic and olive oil, we ate the plump round crottins of goat's cheese, we ate the almond and cream gateau that the daughter of the house had prepared. That night, we ate for England.
"
— Peter Mayle (A Year in Provence)

"Bad artists always admire each others work."
— Oscar Wilde