A lot of girls who turn into something remarkable start off as irrepressible, confident and a handful.

Like most-maybe all- writers, I learned to write by writing and, by example, by reading books.

All the elements of good writing depend on the writer's skill in choosing one word instead of another.

Reading was like eating alone, with that same element of bingeing.

When we humans speak, we are not merely communicating information but attempting to make an impression and achieve a goal.

What I love is how pissed off Jane Eyre is. She's in a rage for the whole novel and the payoff is she gets to marry this blind guy who's toasted his wife in the attic." -Angela Argo "Blue Angel

Like seeing a photograph of yourself as a child, encountering handwriting that you know was once yours but that now seems only dimly familiar can inspire a confrontation with the mystery of time.

We never believe we're beautiful, no matter how many times we hear it. We never believe it until someone says it in the right way.

I’ve always found that the better the book I’m reading, the smarter I feel, or, at least, the more able I am to imagine that I might, someday, become smarter.

I know a lot of Eastern Europeans, and because of what they have been through and what they have seen, they have an attitude where they are not easily fooled.

I can no more reread my own books than I can watch old home movies or look at snapshots of myself as a child. I wind up sitting on the floor, paralyzed by grief and nostalgia.

The eyes of love have 20/20 vision when focused on another, and become entirely blind when focused on ourselves.

Live a fearless life.

Students read for tests and because their parents ask them to, but I think it's very important to tell children that you can read for fun, too, and to understand human spirit. It builds empathy.

As long as there are games to play its not over

Too many?pass judgement on wartime decisions in the luxury of a peacetime environment.

I don't know karate, but I know crazy.

Look to the Heavens, you can look to the skies. You can find redemption staring back into your eyes.

I have been to hell and back, and let me tell you, it was wonderful.

I grew up in a dictatorship in East Africa.

Those who want to know what sound goes into my music should come to NY and open their ears.