Steve Jobs, Apple's boss, has for years described the Apple TV as a "hobby".
But the story about the octopus mother who sheltered her eggs for more than four years described exactly that situation.
Mr. Quinones's colleagues in the Fire Department, where he had worked for six years, described him as a private man.
Byers, who has coached football for 30 years, described Butler's philosophy this way: "It's all about me, me, me.
Dr. Frederick J. Long, a Manhattan psychiatrist who has known Dr. Shinbach for 14 years, described him as dedicated and caring.
This was not some remote administrator, but a revered figure, the head of the school for 24 years, described as well respected, even beloved.
Mr. Clark, who has lived in Hicksville for 34 years, described it as a place where "people are just themselves and don't put the dog on".
Even the low-energy years described in "Youth" take on, in the clipped telling, a curious electricity; the astringent pages leave us keen to read on.
Mitko wafts in and out of a story that unfolds over three years, described from the narrator's perspective in unhurried long sentences.
But William Murchison, who retired as a social studies teacher at Warren Mott High School after 31 years, described the choice in less black-and-white terms.
The director of community relations at the hospital where he had worked for several years described him as a quiet, conscientious good worker and well liked.
