There ain't no point in making soup unless others eat it. Soup needs another mouth to taste it, another heart to be warmed by it.

The sound of the king's music made Despereaux's soul grow large and light inside of him.

Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light.

And hope is like love...a ridiculous, wonderful, powerful thing.

The world is dark, and light is precious.Come closer, dear reader.You must trust me.I am telling you a story.

Despereaux was reading the story out loud to himself. He was reading from the beginning so that he could get to the end...

The April sun, weak but determined, shone through a castle window and from there squeezed itself through a small hole in the wall and placed one golden finger on the little mouse.

Once upon a time, " he said out loud to the darkness. He said these words because they were the best, the most powerful words that he knew and just the saying of them comforted him.

Stories are light.

Desperaux, " she said. He saw his name on her lips."I honor you, " whispered Desperaux. "I honor you.

But it's well known that repression makes a religion flourish.

The sequence is suffering, insight, will, action, change.

Criticism is something you can easily avoid — by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.

My lone desire stands, looking like beauty on a cloud, ripe for my picking, ready for me to ravish and pleasure. Waiting for me to tempt and tease. Satisfy and gratify.

To be whole, we need to embrace bothintuition and logic.

I pretty much bailed on high school. I mean, I graduated, but I wasn't even there for my own graduation.

Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home.

If Jesus was a Jew, how come he has a Mexican first name?

Taste! It doesn't exist. An artist makes beautiful things without being aware of it.

I am a huge fan of Alan Furst. Furst is the best in the business--the most talented espionage novelist of our generation.