"If there had been a door within reach that led straight to death, he wouldn't have hesitated to push it open, without a second thought, as if it were just a part of ordinary life."

Haurki Murakami - Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

"It was as if he were sleepwalking through life, as if he had already died but not yet noticed it."

Haruki Murakami Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

"They're so damn cocky, thought Walter Mitty, walking along Main Street; they think they know everything."

James Thurber - "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

..."It's the millionaire banker, Wellington McMillan," said the pretty nurse. "Yes?" said Walter Mitty, removing his gloves slowly.

-James Thurber "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

“The pounding of the cylinders increased: ta-pocket-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa.” - James Thurber “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”

"As we walked, I kept taking glances at her through the crowd, quick snapshots: a photographic series entitled Perfection Stands Still While Mortals Walk Past."  
 - John Green Paper Towns

"They must have been familiar sights, walking around that shopping plaza in their shirts and ballerina slippers that always scuffed the sidewalk, with charm bracelets jingling on their thin wrists; they would lean together to whisper and laugh secretly if someone passed by who amused or interested them."

-Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"