“The potion drunk by lovers is prepared by no one but themselves. The potion is the sum of one's whole existence.”
Source: The Four-Chambered Heart: V3 in Nin's Continuous Novel
“We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books. It is our habit to think outdoors - walking, leaping, climbing, dancing, preferably on lonely mountains or near the sea where even the trails become thoughtful.”
“In this instant of danger they realized they were each other's reason for living, and into this instant they threw their whole being.”
Source: The Four-Chambered Heart: V3 in Nin's Continuous Novel
“Every word spoken in the past accumulated forms and colors in the self. What flows through the veins besides blood is the distillation of every act committed, the sediment of all the visions, wishes, dreams and experiences. All the past emotions converge to tint the skin and flavor the lips, to regulate the pulse and produce crystals in the eyes.”
Source: The Four-Chambered Heart: V3 in Nin's Continuous Novel
“No man and woman know what will be born in the darkness of their intermingling; so much besides children, so many invisible births, exchanges of soul and character, blossoming of unknown selves, liberation of hidden treasures, buried fantasies...”
Source: The Four-Chambered Heart: V3 in Nin's Continuous Novel
“No two readers can or will ever read the same book, because the reader builds the book in collaboration with the author.”
Source: The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
“I rode my bike home and did the one thing that always helped when things weren't going well. I read. Books were my refuge. Getting lost in a solid adventure story was the best way I knew of to turn off reality.”
Source: The Light
“You don't always recognize a new beginning while it's happening.
You just feel something shift and suddenly, the life you tolerated no longer fits.”
“Whatever that place is, I don't much care -- not unless a book has happened there.”
“We are much more likely to be drawn to a messy bookstore than a neat one because the mess signifies vitality. We are not drawn to a bookstore because of tasteful, Finnish shelves in gunmetal gray mesh, each one displaying three carefully chosen, color-coordinated covers. Clutter -- orderly clutter, if possible -- is what we expect. Like a city. It's not quite a city unless there's more than enough.”
Source: The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History