Immersing oneself in the problems of a book is a good way to keep from thinking of love.

...the endless repetition of an ordinary miracle.

I read a book one day and my whole life was changed.

Suddenly Ka realized he was in love with Ä°pek. And realizing that this love would determine the rest of his life, he was filled with dread.

...in a brutal country like ours where human life is cheap, it's stupid to destroy yourself for the sake of your beliefs. Beliefs, high ideals--only people living in rich countries can enjoy such luxuries.'

'Actually, it's the other way round. In a poor country the only consolation people can have is the one that comes from their beliefs.

You can’t start out again in life, that’s a carriage ride you only take once, but with a book in your hand, no matter how confusing and perplexing it might be, once you’ve finished it, you can always go back to the beginning; if you like, you can read it through again, in order to figure out what you couldn’t understand before, in order to understand life.