Having a personal philosophy is like having a pet marmoset, because it may be very attractive when you acquire it, but there may be situations when it will not come in handy at all.
Of course, it is boring to read about boring thing, but it is better to read something that makes you yawn with boredom than something that will make you weep uncontrollably, pound your fists against the floor, and leave tearstains all over your pillowcase, sheets, and boomerang collection.
The way sadness works is one of the strangest riddles of the world.
Sometimes when someone tells a ridiculous lie, it is best to ignore it entirely.
Miracles can happen, even to those who are small, flammable, and dressed all in black.
Wishing, like sipping a glass of punch, or pulling aside a bearskin rug in order to access a hidden trapdoor in the floor, is merely a quiet way to spend one’s time before the candles are extinguished on one’s birthday cake.
Waiting is one of life’s hardships.
Beef. Yes. Roast beef. It’s the Swedish term for beef that is roasted.
I will love you if I never see you again, and I will love you if I see you every Tuesday.
You would run much slower if you were dragging something behind you, like a knapsack or a sheriff.
Grinning is something you do when you are entertained in some way, such as reading a good book or watching someone you don’t care for spill orange soda all over themselves.
Miracles are like pimples, because once you start looking for them you find more than you ever dreamed you’d see.
Whenever you are examining someone else’s belongings, you are bound to learn many interesting things about the person of which you were not previously aware.
It is often difficult to admit that someone you love is not perfect, or to consider aspects of a person that are less than admirable.
Arguing with somebody is never pleasant, but sometimes it is useful and necessary to do so.
It is not very polite to interrupt a person, of course, but sometimes if the person is very unpleasant you can hardly stop yourself.
I go to bed early and rise late and feel as if I have hardly slept, probably because I have been reading almost the entire time.
Normally it is not polite to go into somebody’s room without knocking, but you can make an exception if the person is dead, or pretending to be dead.
A successful villain should have all these things at his or her villainous fingertips, or else give up villainy altogether and try to lead a life of decency, integrity, and kindness, which is much more challenging and noble, if not always quite as exciting.
Bad circumstances have a way of ruining things that would otherwise be pleasant.