It was a lame excuse, and I knew that wasn't the reason he was canceling. If he wanted to avoid me, I would have preferred he made up something about how he and the other guardians had to up Moroi security or practice top-secret ninja moves.

There's a difference between preferring books to parties and preferring sixteen cats to seeing the light of day.

"When someone tells you somebody's been murdered, laughing is probably not the best response. You know, for future reference.

My own business always bores me to death; I prefer other people's.

I don't put up with being messed around, and I don't suffer fools gladly. The short version of that is that I'm a bitch. Trust me, I can provide character references.

In theory it was, around now, Literature. Susan hated Literature. She'd much prefer to read a good book.

The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.

I'll just have them change the entry in the demonology textbook from 'almost extinct' to 'not extinct enough for Alec. He prefers his monsters really, really extinct.' Will that make you happy?

I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.

Some people try to tell you the things you want in life are out of your grasp, while others lift you up on their shoulders and help you reach them. I may not know a lot, but I prefer to fill my life with people who let me climb on top of their shoulders, not people who try to keep me planted on the ground.

You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?

The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence; the past is a place of learning, not a place of living.

The world is a prison in which solitary confinement is preferable.

"So, preferring death to capture, I accomplished the most astonishing deeds, and which, more then once, showed me that the too great care we take of our bodies is the only obstacle to the sucess of those projects which require rapid decision, and vigorous and determined execution.

I am a horror maniac who prefers to stay at home.

All teachings are mere references. The true experience is living your own life. Then, even the holiest of words are only words.

Be curious about the world in which you live. Look things up. Chase down every reference. Go deeper than anybody else--that's how you'll get ahead.

Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty.

Some say life is the thing, but I prefer reading.

The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is why he made so many of them.

Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised some people prefer books. Books make sense of life. The only problem is that the lives they make sense of are other people's lives, never your own.

Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads - at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making new reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in awhile, let in fresh air, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you'll live forever in your own private library.

Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised some people prefer books.

People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.