When you find somebody you love, all the way through, and she loves you—even with your weaknesses, your flaws, everything starts to click into place. And if you can talk to her, and she listens, if she makes you laugh, and makes you think, makes you want, makes you see who you really are, and who you are is better, just better with her, you’d be crazy not to want to spend the rest of your life with her. (Carter Maguire)

Magic exists. Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers, the music of the wind and the silence of the stars? Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic. It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live.

I’ve never been the one. Not for anybody.”He closed the distance between them. “You’ll get used to it.” He tipped her face up to his, kissed her.“Why? Why am I the one?”“Because my life opened up, and it flooded with color when you walked back into it.

Do you know how many ways love can hit you? So it makes you happy, or miserable? It makes you sick in the belly or hurt in the heart. It makes everything brighter and sharper, or it blurs all the edges. It makes you feel like a king or a fool. Every way love can hit you, it's hit me when it comes to you

If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place.

That woman doesn't have the sense God gave a retarded flea.

know what you want, work to get it, then value it once you have it.

Earrings are like orgasms. You can never have too many." " I never thought about it quite that way." Well, you're a man. " She gave his knee a friendly pat.

Excuse me? Tonight you represent every dateless woman in this city, every woman who's about to sit down to a lonely meal of Weight Watchers past primavera she's just nuked in the microwave. Every woman who will get into bed tonight with a book or reruns of Sex and the City as her only companion. You are our shining hope....But no pressure.

love wasn't the soft, silky words the poets spoke of. Love,with it's twin edges, was the one factor that weakened so many women, that pushed them to compromised their own wants, their own needs for the needs and wants of another.

Not everyone who loves music can play the tune.Estelle

I guess money can't buy happiness if you shop in the wrong places.

Don't turn your back on your own happiness just to hug your pride.

Damn me to hell or take me to heaven, but for Gods sake, do it now....

A woman with romance in her life lived as grandly as a queen, because her heart was treasured.

it taught me, that when a woman lets herself love, she loses. it taught me that to survive, you rely on yourself first and last." -adrianne"It should have also taught you that sometimes love has no threshold." -philip

I find myself fascinated by a man who admits to enjoying fairy tales and uses the word "impinge"- barely misses a beat while indulging in a brief girl-on-girl fantasy. You're a man of layers, Ford."Me and Shrek, we're onions.

He won't be one of those girlishly pretty men with curly gold hair...He'll be dark, dangerous, too. Brave, certainly, but not without flaws. I like my heroes human.

As a rule of thumb, I'd say one cliché per [Romance]--and then be damn sure you can make it work. But if you're going to try to write the virginal amnesiac twin disguised as a boy mistaken for the mother (or father depending how well the disguise works) of a secret baby, honey, you better have some serious skills. Or seek therapy.

The tune was sad, as the best of Ireland was, melancholy and lovely as a lover's tears.

He wanted to be a poet,' someone else put in while Maggie hugged Tim and patted his back. 'Said he'd only lacked the words to be one.

I'm not asking you for a second chance. I know better than that. But you've got no right to ask me to settle for sex then expect me to give up the one thing that's kept me going. I gave you up, now I'm taking what's left.”“You didn't give me up,” she tossed back. “You never wanted me.”“I never wanted anything the way I wanted you. I loved you.” He dragged her painfully to her toes. “I've always loved you. I cut my own heart out when I sent you away.

Do you want to fix it?""I just said I was in love with her. Why wouldn't I want to fix it?""You want to know how?""Goddamn it, Del." He drank again. "Yes, since you're so fucking smart. How do I fix it?""Crawl."Jack blew out a breath. "I can do that".

You said we've got a new page. I figure I've got some say in what gets written on it. So I'm going to work on you. Last time around, you threw yourself at me.” “I did no such thing.”“Sure you did. But I can see I've got my work cut out for me this time. That's okay.” He skimmed his thumb over her knuckles before she jerked her hand free. “In fact, I think I'm going to enjoy it.”“I don't know why I waste my time trying to mend fences with you. You're as arrogant as you ever were.”“Just the way you like me, sweetheart.

Oh, God. God, isn't that perfect? He's Dad. He's Dad with a layer of nerd. Solid, steady, chipping away so patiently, you don't even know you've had your shields hacked down until you're defenseless. It's the type." "You're not in love with a type, you're in love with a man," Penny corrected. "Or you're not.

Sex might satisfy, food might fuel, love might sustain, but without coffee, what is the point?

Are you telling me you're cooking me dinner?- Regan Its the quickest way, without physical contact, to get a woman into bed. The kitchen through there?

It was a mistake to think of houses, old houses, as being empty. They were filled with memories, with the faded echoes of voices. Drops of tears, drops of blood, the ring of laughter, the edge of tempers that had ebbed and flowed between the walls, into the walls, over the years.Wasn't it, after all, a kind of life?And there were houses, he knew it, that breathed. They carried in their wood and stone, their brick and mortar a kind of ego that was nearly, very nearly, human.

You can fix anything but a blank page.

Good fiction creates its own reality.

You can't edit a blank page

The story was told, generation by generation, in song and in story, until time misted it into myth and legend. But some believed, as legends brought comfort.

A relationship isn't something that has to be created in a day or perfected in a day. Part of the game is to keep working on it. It's something that'll always be just a little flawed.

You don't fix a man the way you do a fault in a pipe or a leak in a roof. You take him as he is, Mary Brenna, or you don't take him at all...adjustments can't be all made on one side, darling, else the balance goes off and what's being built just falls down.

Parker: She believed, absolutely, that each person, each heart, had a counterpart—had a mate. A rightness. She’d always believed it, and understood that unshakable belief was a reason she was good at what she did.

Nodding, Parker ate. “He’s an exceptional kisser.”“He really is. He . . . How do you know?” When Parker just smiled, Emma’s jaw dropped. “You? You and Jack? When? How?”“I think it’s disgusting,” Mac muttered. “Yet another best pal moving on my imaginary ex.”“Two kisses, my first year at Yale, after we ran into each other at a party and he walked me back to the dorm. It was nice. Very nice. But as exceptional a kisser as he is, it was too much like kissing my brother. And as exceptional a kisser as I am, I believe he felt it was too much like kissing his sister. And that’s how we left it. I gather that wasn’t an issue for you and Jack.

He gave her a quick, casual kiss on the cheek first. Then came the hug, and it was the hug that always made Laurel’s heart mush. Serious grip, cheek to the hair, eyes closed, just a little sway. Del’s hugs mattered, she thought, and made him impossible to resist.

And since I’m marrying into the Quartet, I have certain privileges and duties. If you’re sleeping with Laurel—”“I’m not sleeping with Laurel. We’re dating.”“Right, and the two of you are just going to hold hands, admire the moon, and sing camp songs.”“For a while. Minus the singing.

You know what she's made of.""Yeah, good stock, good breeding, a hard head and a hunger to win." She flashed him a smile as they approached the kitchen door. "I've been told that describes me. I'm half Irish, Brian, I was born stubborn.""No arguing with that. A person might make the world a calmer place for others by being passive, but you don't get very far in it yourself, do you?""Look at that. We have a foundation of agreement. Now tell me you like spaghetti and meatballs.""It happens to be a favorite of mine.""That's handy. Mine, too. And I heard a rumor that's what's for dinner." She reached for the doorknob, then caught him off guard by brushing a light kiss over his lips. "And since we'll be joining my parents, it would probably be best if you didn't imagine me naked for the next couple of hours."She sailed in ahead of him, leaving Brian helplessly and utterly aroused.

I want you. I want you under me and over me and around me. And you want.

If it winds up earlier, you should have a movie picked out. This is assuming she isn’t sending you the ‘let’s go back to my place’ signals. In that case—”“Don’t go there, Bob. Let’s just not go there.

Remind me not to piss you off Red. You might aim for the heart and shoot me in the balls.

Shall I tell you what rock and roll is, Johnno, from someone who doesn't perform, but observes? It's restless and rude. It's defiant and daring. It's a fist shaken at age. It's a voice that often screams out questions because the answers are always changing. The very young play it because they're searching for some way to express their anger or joy, their confusion and their dreams. Once in a while, and only once in a while, someone comes along who truly understands, who has the gift to transfer all those needs and emotions into music.

Change--savor the cool, fresh flavor of it.

Abby: "You were great. I don't know what I'd have done without you."Dylan: "You'd have done fine. That's one of the most intimidating things about you." Abby: "Intimidating? Me?"Dylan: "It isn't easy for a man to get involved with a woman who's totally capable of handling anything that comes along... It isn't easy for a man to believe that there are woman who can not only do those things but enjoy them... [But] it's all natural for you isn't it? It's incredible.

Brother, when beauty falls into your hand, you hold on to it while you can. You could be dead tomorrow.Well, that’s... inspiring.

I go to Ireland. Walk along an empty beach. When I do, I think of all the people who have walked there before, and will walk there again. Then it occurs to me nothing is forever. No matter how bad or how good, everything passes and moves on to another level.

Men didn't respect beauty...they used it.

...If I don't have twenty or thirty books right here, waiting to be read, I start jonesing. That's my compulsion.

She sighed once, wishing she had a talent for the details of telling stories. She wasn't bad at themes, she mused, but she could never figure out how to turn a theme into an engaging tale. So she read instead, and admired those who could.

You walked in, and the air changed. It gives you an advantage and you're enough of a challenge. I'm not trying to be a challenge. It's one of the things that makes you one.

He preferred the term "study" to "office," as an office meant work. No way around it. In a study, you could, well, study, or nap or read, or stare into space thinking long thoughts. You could certainly work, but it wasn't a requirement.

You don't want some tacky Vegas fly-by. You're serious. You're serious about friendships, about your work, your family. You're serious about Star Wars, and you active dislike of Jar Jar Binks---""Well, God. Come on, anyone who---""You're serious," she continued before he went on a Jar Jar rant, "about living your life on your terms, and being easygoing doesn't negate that one bit. You're serious about what kind of kryptonite is more lethal to Superman.""You have to go with the classic green. I told you, the gold can strip Kryptonians' powers permanently, but---"......"Mkae all the lists you want, Cilla. Love? It's green kryptonite. it powers out all the rest.

My own brother calling me a brickhead. Sneering faeries insulting me. Women punching me in the face. How much more am I to swallow in one bloody day?

Courage comes in different forms. There's strength--that's the muscle. But love's the heart. When you put them together, you can do anything.

Feeling too much is a hell of a lot better than feeling nothing.

She pressed her mouth to his throat, his shoulder, would have absorbed him into her skin if she'd known a way.

You're going to need this," she said, and pulled out a condom."At some point, we're also going to need a defibrillator and a fire extinguisher.""Promises, promises.

Well, I'd have more zing with George Clooney and Harrison Ford in a threesome, but neither of us are going to get that wish.

Happily ever after?" "If justice doesn't triumph and love doesn't make the circle in entertainment fiction, what's the point? Real life sucks too often.

Fictional people are people, too, otherwise why would we care what happens to them?

Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway.Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth at the time of the writing, wouldn't it?

Take a few minutes.""No. He's already had more of my time than he was entitled to."Yes, he thought as she walked out of his office. Very much like her grandmother.

Family’s the luck of the draw, Lena. What you make of yourself, because of or despite it, that’s where the spine and heart come in.

All he'd learned was that love was a jewel with too many facets to count. Strength and weakness running side by side through it. And that no one could give or take it with any less than an open hand.

Shannon: Only the living suffered. Only they were riddled with guilt and regret and unanswered questions.

Creative is my god. Technology my cherished lover.

Knowing isn't always believing.

Words have magic. Spells and curses. Some of them, the best of them, once said change everything.

I am what I am and I can't change it. I know how to cope and how to get by. I don't want or expect anyone to stand with me. I don't need anyone to. I've learned to accept my life just the way it is, and I don't give a damn if you or anyone else doesn't.

Everything I know, I learned from dogs.

I think you're under no obligation whatsoever to forgive anything, to forget anything. You're not required to push away the years of abuse because the abuser now chooses to be sober and in his sobriety regrets his actions. And white may be small and unforgiving of me, I think people who do so at the snap of a dam finger are either liars or are in need of serious therapy. I assume you heard him out, so in my personal opinion, any debt you might owe for your existence is now paid in full. It may be fashionable to hold that terrible actions are indeed terrible, but that hte person inflicting them isn't responbile due to alcohol, drugs, DNA, or GD PMS. He damn well was responsible, and if you decided to loathe him for the rest of your life, I wouldn't blame you for it. How's that?" (Cybil to Gage - she ROCKS)

You need a place just a click over middle range. Don’t want to go all-out first time, but you don’t want to run on the cheap either. You want atmosphere, but not stuffy. A nice established place.”“Bob, you’re going to give me an ulcer.”“This is all ammunition, Cart. All ammo. You want to be able to order a nice bottle of wine. Oh, and after dinner, if she says how she doesn’t want dessert, you suggest she pick one and you’ll split it. Women love that. Sharing dessert’s sexy. Do not go on and on about your job over dinner. Certain death. Get her to talk about hers, and what she likes to do. Then—”“Should I be writing this down?

I'm going to treat myself to one of these as a reward for not knocking himself unconscious with a skillet.

A bit of sniffles and men are more work than a brood of babies.

You have to believe in it to get it...

Memories are nice little possessions. As long as you don't ignore the present when you take them out to play.

Love and magic have a great deal in common. they enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice.

Love spells are nothing but wives' tales. You can't play magic inside the heart, for it's more powerful than any spell. Lust you can order up with a wink, desire with a smile. But love is love, and there is nothing can touch it.

We've got this heat going on, that's all. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not go into that end ofthings.""Oh, it's all the same to me. You're both adults and you got two working brains between you. Bothof you were raised right, so what you do is your own business. Next time, though, lock the damn doorfirst.

It's Salvation. When Jen told me I had a vision. A vision Rena. I think I saw the blessed mother smiling and she was hold ing a loofa.[In regards to moving out of dorms and having three bathrooms between 4 roomates]

Anyone who said money didn't matter had never had to count the coins that fell between the cushions of the couch.

Anything worth anything can be found in books.

Fate. You could never anticipate it.

Niall: We're tossed by the winds of fate. Once we end where they blow us, we make of ourselves that we will.

To fate and the strange way that it twists us all together.

I can't believe what a state I got myself into over this. Everyone was right. They said it would just happen, and it did. I guess the best things do.

Evil cannot and will not be vanquished by evil. Dark will only swallow dark and deepen. The good and the light are the keenest weapons.

He hated this feeling of free-floating, just drifting from place to place, thought to thought, without any sense of anchor or root.

You have any complaints or comments, you direct them to me. If you call and harass Granddadagain, I'll do whatever I can, legally, to revoke that trust fund you've been living off of for the lastthirty years.""You have no right to—""No, you have no right. You never worked a day for this company, any more than you and mymother worked a day to be parents. Until he's ready to step aside, Eli MacMillan runs this show. Andwhen he's ready to step aside, I'll run it. Believe me, I won't be as patient as he's been. You cause himone more moment's grief, and we'll have more than a phone conversation about it.""Are you threatening me? Do you plan to send someone after me like Tony Avano?""No, I know how to hit you where it hurts. I'll see to it all your major credit cards are canceled.Remember, you're not dealing with an old man now. Don't fuck with me."He jabbed the off button, considered heaving the phone, then spotted Sophia standing at the edgeof the patio.

Love's a gift, and can certainly be refused. Refusing doesn't destroy the gift, it simply puts it aside. You're free to do that. I'm not expecting a gift in return. Take what's offered, especially when it's offered so generously and without expectations.

Compromise isn't so painful if you're the one setting the terms.

Anyone that has character leaves a mark on another. Would you like to leave the world without making a ripple?

I know what it is to be pushed in a direction you don't want to go, or one you're not ready for. People say they know what's best for you. Maybe sometimes it's true. But it doesn't matter if they keep pushing until they take your choices away.

When we destroy it." She spoke clearly now, steadily now. "If it comes in a form with a dick, I will personally castrate it".

Don't give up on your own happy-evers.

But when two people feel something, they ought to respect that enough to figure it out

Bright light. You've always found your way.

When you swallow that pride, Eve, take care you don't choke on it.

And each book has to receive your best effort every single time. No slacking.

Some people expect things to fall into their lap. Oh, they might work a bit for it. I'll just shake this tree, and if I shake it long enough that pretty red apple will plop right into my hand. Never occurs to them that they might have to climb the damn tree, fall out a couple times, get some scrapes and bruises before they get to that apple. Because if the apple's worth wanting, it's worth risking a broken neck.

It’s never simple.” Avery slid an arm around Hope’s waist. “It shouldn’t be. Because being with someone should matter enough to be at least a little bit complicated.

She walked with a ghost of herself, one full of potential and possibility. One who was fearless. Where had that girl gone?

She fell silent, remembering the jolt of envy and longing she’d felt when she’d framed the Browns in her viewfinder. Now, weeks and miles later, it was another jolt for Bryan to realize she hadn’t brushed off the peculiar feeling. She has managed to put it aside, somewhere to the back of her mind, but it popped out again now as she thought of the couple in the bleachers of a small-town park.Family, cohesion. Bonding. Did some people just keep promises better than others? she wondered. Or where some people simply unable to blend their lives with someone’s else, make those adjustments, the compromises?When she looked back, she believed both she and Rob had tried, but in their own ways. There’d been no meeting of the minds, but two separate thought patterns making decisions that never melded with each other. Did that mean that a successful marriage depended on the mating of two people who thought along the same lines?With a sigh, she turned onto the highway that would lead them into Tennessee. If it was true, she decided, she was much better off single. Though she’d met a great many people she liked and could have fun with, she’d never met anyone who thought the way she did. Especially the man seated next to her with his nose already buried in the newspaper. There alone they were radically different.”For more quotes visit my blog: frommybooks.wordpress.com

People in hell want snowcones.

Don't you want me to kiss you goodbye, sweetie?""Kiss a cow farm boy

God I'm crazy about him.""It's early yet for crazy isn't it?""Don't you know when you know? Five minutes, five years - how does that change what you know? I wanted to know with the man I was with before. I tried to know. I liked him, and I was comfortable with him. I told myself, 'Give it more time', but time didn't change anything. Not for either of us as it turned out.

He loved his job. What was advertising, anyway, but a knowledge of people and of which buttons to push to nudge them into opening their wallets?It was, he often though, an accepted, creative, even expected twist on picking those wallets. For a man who had spent the first half of his life as a thief, it was the perfect career.

Survivors lived with their mistakes.

I wouldn't waste a day, not an hour, not a moment. Take what you want and damn caution. Live, enjoy. Feed ravenously. Or the biggest regret you'll have at the end of your life is wasted time.

[Everyone needs] a woman who'll listen, take your side, tell the truth - or not, as you need it. A woman you can count on, no matter what, and who'll love you no matter how much you screw up.

There was nothing like a Saturday - unless it was the Saturday leading up to the last week of school and into summer vacation. That of course was all the Saturdays of your life rolled into one big shiny ball.

You love tests?""Well, yeah. There are questions and answers. True or false, multiple choice, essay. What's not to love?

Who I am now is who I was before. The three years between, they were the aberration. You wouldn't recognize the person I became during that lost time. I barely do.

Grab it while you can because tomorrow could suck you dry.

Writing had never become routine for him, but remained a constant surprise. He was always surprised at how much fun it was, once it all got moving. And never failed to be surprised at how bloody hard it was. It was like having an intense, frustrating love affair with a capricious, gorgeous, and often mean-spirited woman.He loved every moment of it.

...she lost twenty minutes sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees, smiling into the pretty glow and imagining herself a contented farmer's wife waiting for her man to come in from the fields.

We all look. The lucky find. The wise accept.

Alone in her shelter, she allowed herself tears. When her shelter cooled to the touch she called to Gull, “Coming out!” She eased her head out into the smoky air, looked over at Gull. She imaged they both looked like a couple of sweaty, parboiled turtles climbing out of their shells.“Hello, gorgeous.”She laughed. It hurt her throat, but she laughed. “Hey, handsome.

She was tough in the best sense of the word. She'd taken blows, the disappointments, and had worked her way through them. Some people, he knew, would have buckled under, found a clutch, or given up. But she had carved a place for herself and made it work.

Is your dog in a coma?" Quinn asked when the dog didn't move a muscle."No. Lump leads an active and demanding internal life that requires long periods of rest.

Witches, he thought. Always rhyming.

Why do we go to all this trouble' Parker asked. 'Men don't notice anyway.''Because what we wear affects how we feel, how we act, how we move. And that they do notice. Especially the move. Get dressed, smoke the eyes. You'll know you look good so you'll feel good. You'll have a better time.

Do you see that out there? The strange, unfamiliar light? It's called the sun. Let's go get us a little.

I admire independence. The world would be a stronger place if we were all capable of handling life on our own. But being capable of it doesn't mean being unable to share and depend on someone else. It shouldn't mean being unwilling to. That's the romance.

I don't need you by my side. But I want you there. Very much want you there. That, I think, saysmore. Means more."He took the hand she held out to him. "We'll go down. James should be here soon

There's no reward without work, no victory without effort, no battle won without risk.

It was a well-aimed arrow. Had anyone even noticed she was no longer at the library? All the people she'd worked with, worked for? All the patrons she'd helped? Had she been so replaceable that her absence hadn't caused a single ripple?Hadn't she mattered at all?

Planting a flower's like opening a book, because either way you're starting something. And your garden's your library.

A marriage is a delicate thing, Maggie, a balance of two hearts and two hopes. Sometimes the weight's just too heavy on the one side, and the other can't lift to it.

And yet, anything real, anything strong, was never easy. She'd been taught from an early age that the things that mattered most were the hardest to obtain.

If you’re looking for the full deal, the till-death deal, then look at me. No one’s ever going to love you, stick by you, understand how you work the way I do.(Malcolm Kavanaugh)

Love runs the engine

David.""Nobody home but you and me," he said, nibbling at her jaw, her throat, her mouth as he guidedher out of the kitchen. "You know what I was thinking the other day?""No." How could she? She didn't know what she was thinking right now."That it's a complex business. My girlfriend lives with her mother."She did laugh now, at the idea of being called anyone's girlfriend."And I live with my kids. No place to go to do all the things I've imagined doing with you. Do youknow the things I've imagined doing with you?""I'm getting the picture. David, it's the middle of the day.""The middle of the day." He paused at the base of the steps. "And an opportunity. I hate wastedopportunities, don't you?

God, I love men." She got up from the desk, walked to him, cupped his face in her hands andgave him a smacking kiss on the mouth. "You're just so cute."One hard tug on her hand had her tumbling into his lap. An instant later her quick laugh was cutoff, and her heart pounding.He hadn't kissed her this way before, with impatience and heat and hunger all mixed together in anear brutal assault. He hadn't kissed her as if he couldn't get enough. Would never get en

Some people get lifetimes, some get moments. I’ve got to tell myself it’s what you do with what you get that counts.

I was into third guesses with Theo and Maddy. Anyway, that's one of the reasons I opted to buythe van and drive cross-country instead of dumping us all in a plane. It gave us some time. Nothinglike a three-thousand-mile drive in an enclosed vehicle to cement a family unit—if you live throughit.""It was very brave of you.""You want to talk courage?" He drove easily up the lane to the villa. "I've been chief taste-testeron this wine experiment Maddy's conducting. It's brut

Jake eyed his brother. "I never forget. All data is stored in my memory banks. And one day, candy pig, you will pay.""You 're such a geek.""Thesbo.""That's Jack's latest insult."Seth gestured with his wine-glass. "A play on thespian, since Kev's into that.""Rhymes with lesbo," Jake explained helpfully while Anna stifled a groan. "It's a slick way of calling him a girl.

We dragged Linc along. His current honey is working tonight.""Still the intern?""Yeah." Helen sat on the curvy velvet chaise, made herself at home. "I'm starting to think he'sgetting serious about her.""And?""I don't know. She's a nice girl, raised well. Focused, which he could use, and independent,which I appreciate.""But he's your baby.""But he's my baby," Helen agreed. "I miss the little boy sometimes, with the scabbed knees andloose shoelaces. Still see him in that tall, gorgeous lawyer in the three-piece suit that strolls in andout of my life now. And Jesus,

Be yourself. Be true to that, to your heart. Patience. See what happens if you step back instead of bounding forward.

The wounded recognized the wounded.

Roz to Amelia (the house ghost): How considerate of you, after trying to kill me, to see that I don't catch a cold.

New York had saved him, in a very real way. It had pushed and prodded him with its impatient and sharp fingers, reminding him on a daily basis during that jittery first year that it didn't really give a goddamn whether he sank or swam. He liked its selfishness and its generosity and its propensity for flipping the bird to the rest of the world.

I can fix a bad page. I can't fix a blank page.