Damn, I hadn't heard Hilary Mantel had died. That's a real loss, she is one of the greats. Interesting, in the article, how she connects her religious childhood to her work bringing historical figures to life. It makes it seem almost inevitable she would become a historical writer.
I read Wolf Hall when it came out, seeing it had such good reviews. By the end of the first chapter I knew it was going to be a great book. She was such a good writer in a world full of very badly written books. I'm very sad she's gone.
I had a similar feeling - I'd stop every once in a while and savor a particularly wonderful line for a minute or two. I wondered if I should make a note of such lines, but ended up just enjoying them and letting them go.