Damon

“Now he was astonished by how much he missed them. The English made regular use of only two flavours – salty and not salty – and did not seem to recognize any of the others. For a country that profited so well from trading in spices, its citizens were violently averse to actually using them; in all his time in Hampstead, he never tasted a dish that could be properly described as ‘seasoned’, let alone ‘spicy’.”
― R.F. Kuang, Babel

“Hello, sir,” I whispered. The will to be polite, to maintain civility and normalcy, is fearfully strong. I wonder sometimes how much evil is permitted to run unchecked simply because it would be rude to interrupt it.”
― Alix E. Harrow, The Ten Thousand Doors of January

“He couldn't believe it was only Wednesday. And it was made worse when he realized it was actually Tuesday.”
― T.J. Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea

“It’s rare to find a scientist who is also a good administrator.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary