A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.

If you don’t care about something, one way to demonstrate your feelings is to say the word and then repeat the word with the letters S-C-H-M replacing the first letters. Somebody who didn’t care about dentists, for instance could say ‘Dentist, schmentists.

Literature doesn’t exactly have a strong mental-health track record.

It looked like something the Hemlock needed, or a piece of equipment a plumber had left behind. It looked like none of your business.

You must be all a-tingle with excitement.'
'I guess so,' I said, but I did not feel a-tingle. I did not feel a-anything.

There's an easy method for finding someone when you hear them scream. First get a clean sheet of paper and a sharp pencil. Then sketch out nine rows of fourteen squares each. Then throw the piece of paper away and find whoever is screaming so you can help them. It is no time to fiddle with paper.