"A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight."

"The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealised past."

"Do not suppose, however, that I intend to urge a diet of classics on anybody. I have seen such diets at work. I have known people who have actually read all, or almost all, the guaranteed Hundred Best Books. God save us from reading nothing but the best."

"The great book for you is the book that has the most to say to you at the moment when you are reading. I do not mean the book that is most instructive, but the book that feeds your spirit. And that depends on your age, your experience, your psychological and spiritual need."

"Reality is nothing but a collective hunch."

"Whatever dreams I have wished have come true."

"I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific."

"Don't kid yourself; the guy who's onstage in ripped-up jeans is wearing as much a costume as I am."