Simon

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
― Oscar Wilde

“Sometimes,” said Helmholtz, “I get so lonely and disgusted, I don’t see how I can stand it. I feel like doing all kinds of crazy things, just for the heck of it—things that might even be bad for me.” Jim blew a smoke ring expertly. “And then!” said Helmholtz. He snapped his fingers and honked his horn. “And then, Jim, I remember I’ve got at least one tiny corner of the universe I can make just the way I want it! I can go to it and gloat over it until I’m brand-new and happy again.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Welcome to the Monkey House

“That's one thing Earthlings might learn to do, if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times and concentrate on the good ones.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

“Doing history means building bridges between the past and the present, observing both banks of the river, taking an active part on both sides.”
― Bernhard Schlink, The Reader