Septima Snape

“Half the charm in old books is the marks of living they acquire;”
― Erika Swyler, The Book of Speculation

“Once you’ve held a book and really loved it, you forever remember the feel of it, its specific weight, the way it sits in your hand. My thumb knows the grain of this book’s leather, the dry dust of red rot that’s crept up its spine, each waving leaf of every page that holds a little secret or one of Peabody’s flourishes. A librarian remembers the particular scent of glue and dust, and if we’re so lucky—and I was—the smell of parchment, a quiet tanginess, softer than wood pulp or cotton rag. We would bury ourselves in books until flesh and paper became one and ink and blood at last ran together. So maybe my hand does clench too tightly to the spine. I may never again hold another book this old, or one with such a whisper of me in it.”
― Erika Swyler, The Book of Speculation

“It's brutal to realize that someone might find a life with you in it unbearable.”
― Erika Swyler

“Fiction is about readers. Without readers there is no point in books, and therefore they are as important as the author, perhaps more important.”
― Claire Fuller, Swimming Lessons