Rachel

“On the whole, I think you should write biographies of those you admire and respect, and novels about human beings who you think are sadly mistaken.”
― Penelope Fitzgerald

“The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a great commotion, you should remember that he who writes for fools always finds a large public. A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer, Essays and Aphorisms

“Except for the people who were there that one day they discovered the polio vaccine, being part of history is rarely a good idea. History is one war after another with a bunch of murders and natural disasters in between.”
― Sarah Vowell, Assassination Vacation

“For me, books have always been a way to feel less alone while being alone.”
― Jonathan Ames, interview on AV Club.com