“Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic beings. Following complex story lines stretches our brains beyond the 140 characters of sound-bite thinking, and staying within the world of a novel gives us the ability to be quiet and alone, two skills that are disappearing faster than the polar icecaps.”
"I do not believe that there were more happy marriages before divorce became socially acceptable, that people tried harder, got through their rough times, and were better off. I believe that more people suffered."
- Ann Patchett
Relationships
"It's always better to have too much to read than not enough."
- Ann Patchett
Motivation
"To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall."
- Ann Patchett
Change
"Do you think it’s possible to ever see the past as it actually was?"
- Ann Patchett
Reflection
"Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic beings."
- Ann Patchett
Empathy
"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."
- Leonardo DaVinci
Inspiration
"Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives."
- Socrates
Inspiration
"The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, above all obstacles, on the infinite highway of the air."
- Wilbur Wright
Inspiration
"Sometimes, flying feels too God-like to be attained by man. Sometimes, the world from above seems too beautiful, too wonderful, too distant for human eyes to see."
- Charles A. Lindbergh
Inspiration
"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Inspiration