“Why is it, do you suppose," said Edward, "that the Continental breakfast has only to cross the Channel to be so damp and depressing. It seems simple enough; why does it travel so badly? In England one wonders whether it is really meant to be eaten. Here it is invariably ambrosial." "It is the tyranny of the toast rack," said Maria.” FoodTyrannyBreakfast Book:Some Trick: Thirteen Stories Source: Some Trick: Thirteen Stories
“Reflected, framed, the room had charms foreign to the original, just as an ordinary or even ugly object gains beauty and dignity when painted or photographed.” BeautyDignity Book:Some Trick: Thirteen Stories Source: Some Trick: Thirteen Stories
“When a human being develops an argument, when a human being attempts not only to think but to speak with precision, he or she is often made to feel that this is a mark of social inadequacy and that there is something comical about it. The younger the human being, the more humorous it becomes. So that humans whose inclination it is to think and speak in this way become self-conscious from an early age, and a kind of minstrelisation creeps in.” ChildrenRationalityRationality Quotes Book:Some Trick: Thirteen Stories Source: Some Trick: Thirteen Stories
“You're not the kind of girl who'd be in a place like this at a time like this. Not the kind of girl who'd sit next to a guy who's the kind of guy who'd be in Bright Lights, Big City II and be so [spaced out/coked up/polypharmaceutically prepositioned/ (Add/delete as appropriate)] that he thinks he's the kind of guy who'd be in a pastiche of Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler. It was pre-assigned seating.” HumorBooksAndroids Book:Your Name Here Source: Your Name Here
“The reason is that even in a fantasy there is nothing even remotely erotic about a toilet bowl. In fact, considered as an accoutrement to a sexual encounter, a toilet bowl is a real cold shower.” SexToilets Book:Lightning Rods Source: Lightning Rods
“Кто бежит наперегонки со временем, обзаводится недругом, коему не страшны прискорбные случайности.” EternityIn Vain Author:Helen DeWitt
“So Lucille pressed the button, and a panel slid open in the wall, and the transporter came through, and sure enough here was the bare butt of the client waiting to be whipped. For reasons best known to himself he had kept his shoes and socks on, so he was wearing well-polished black loafers and black silk socks.” ClothesAwkwardWhip Book:Lightning Rods Source: Lightning Rods