Lura

“To him the stars seemed like so many musical notes affixed to the sky, just waiting for somebody to unfasten them.”
― Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

“All it takes is six cuts,” he said near her ear. She nodded, relaxing against him as he guided her hands with precision. One deep stroke of the blade neatly removed an angled section of wood. They rotated the pencil and made another cut, and then a third, creating a precise triangular prism. “Now trim the sharp edges.” They concentrated on the task with his hands still bracketed over hers, using the blade to chamfer each corner of wood until they had created a clean, satisfying point. Done.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Cold-Hearted Rake

“Laughter is man's most distinctive emotional expression.”
― Margaret Mead

“Ending a novel is almost like putting a child to sleep—it can't be done abruptly.”
― Colm Tóibín