Alan Shackelford

“But in a period of abundance any half-wit with a spoon can please a palate.”
― Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

“For White man, life is to own, or to try to own more, or to die trying to own more.”
― David Mitchell, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

“Manners are not like bonbons, Nina. You may not choose the ones that suit you best; and you certainly cannot put the half-bitten ones back in the box.”
― Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

“On those we love:
"Every year that passed, it seemed a little more of her had slipped away; and I began to fear that one day I would come to forget her altogether. But the truth is: No matter how much time passes, those we have loved never slip away from us entirely.”
― Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow