And Then? And Then? What Else? Quotes

“The reason we read - the reason you're reading this book - is because some other book enchanted you, earlier on, and before that another, and before that another. This is the real literary canon, not some hegemonic pantheon, adapted and debated over time. We each have one, a literary canon, and we make it ourselves, not out of what is respectable or prestigious or prominent or lasting or moral or even well-made.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“There was a little gap, a thrilling one, between the narrator and the author, between what was true and what couldn't be, a crucial space for a young reader, surrounded everywhere by the usual restrictions, to sit free and think what I liked.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“of which had attracted my interest for some brief period of time and then never again until someone suggested I throw one of them away, when each became the dearest thing in the world to me.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“My bedroom was an unsurprising mess of such scraps, with shelves full of baskets full of little objects from God knows everywhere, toys and prizes and gifts and souvenirs of every description, all”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“Nabokov famously said that reality was “one of the few words which mean nothing without quotes,” and this was an idea that kept visiting, bringing me comfort and bliss at a time when my mind was desperate for both.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“A book moves in the world. It may meet you, in a bookstore, say, and ask you if you want an adventure. Perhaps this sounds interesting to you, perhaps not, perhaps you are unsure. The decision is yours—no one is forcing you to read anything—and you won’t really know why you made the decision anyway. As far as consequences, if you even know them, to try measuring and tracing such effects is a foolish enterprise, a square and stupid attempt to bridge an impossible gap, like the one between being young and being old, impossible not because the gap is too enormous but because nobody really knows what it is. You may love the book; it may thrill you or make you sick, right in a row or even simultaneously. Books are like people in this way. And if you find yourself feeling that the book is problematic, all that means is that you have a problem with it, and that’s easily solved. Leave the book behind, put your clothes back on, and go home.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“One afternoon I was the only passenger left. But the driver hadn't seen me, and as we pulled away from the Vertigo hospital, he began to sing, very loudly and proudly,

I'm alone on the bus!
I'm alone on the bus!

This song has loomed large. I am a big believer in, and performer of, the spur-of-the-moment self-composed song. My sister and I compete aloud in this art form whenever we are together and something unusual or something unremarkable or nothing happens, to the unconfirmed delight of our families. However, in this instance I was afraid the driver would skip my stop, so I had to pull the Stop Request cord, which rang its little reminder that he was, contrary to his performance, not alone on the bus.

He took it pretty well. There was nothing to be self-conscious about, really; we both knew why he was singing. He was bored.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“Surely all artistic output stems from something a little nobler than boredom. It’s why I like to dress it up and say ennui instead, to mean another kind of boredom, a French kind, more glamorous, better somehow, less blandly fidgety and more beautifully empty.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“There is, in fact, a whole planet of literary appreciation that is only distantly orbiting the actual texts. People declare themselves in favor of Jeffersonian democracy, or label a situation Kafkaesque, who haven’t read Jefferson or Kafka in years, or ever. Books are declared overrated, overlooked, major, minor, offensive and/or life-changing without being opened. Our shelves are full of mighty statements important to us that we haven’t quite gotten around to yet, and books from distant schooldays whose sole purpose is to show we’ve read them, and sometimes--often--we haven’t.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“A universally loved rebel, an immensely popular loner, the imaginary writer is everyone's favorite, if only because you don't have to read anything to appreciate their work, although I must say I prefer their earlier stuff.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“The pleasure of reading is the pleasure of loneliness. Loneliness is at the heart of literature -- every book, every single book you can read.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“Loneliness has a sad reputation. But all it is is a small circle you are standing in. This might be a sad experience, if it is not where you want to be standing. But being lonely often has the magic of clear truth -- a reminder that the circle is always present, in your mind, and that you alone can invite others to join you, the way you alone can decide what book to read, what sentences to hold close or to skip entirely.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?

“Reading wasn't a cure for loneliness but framed it as part of a long tradition of people feeling alienated and isolated all over this teeming planet.”
― Daniel Handler, And Then? And Then? What Else?