A lot of my close friends had tolerantly washed their hands of the whole idea of me writing a book. They had said to themselves, "I don't know what he's doing."

People thought becoming an adult meant that all your acts had consequences; in fact it was just the opposite.

To my parents, writing seemed precarious and not the best idea.

I'm just kind of really interested in athletes as artists of a pretty serious variety and people who devote themselves to what they do in a really incredible way.

You don't have to even see the common man anymore if you don't want to! Only through the telescope on your yacht.

It was strange the way he loved her; a side long and almost casual love, as if loving her were simply a matter of course, too natural to mention.

It's very hard right now to be a pro sports fan. The economics of this stuff is abysmal.

... people loved to suffer, as long as the suffering made sense. Everybody suffered. The key was to choose the form of your suffering.

I play American football every Saturday, which I find calming.

Most writers, most books, you have no idea whether it was a dollar or a million dollars.

The novel has always been the form that incorporates other forms. For me, it has always been the ultimate medium.

The quote above about patience is NOT MERYL STREEP's-- this quote is actually from the pen of Portuguese self-help author/life coach José Micard Teixeira. PLEASE REMOVE IT!!!!!

Just consider some of these recent hacks, JPMorgan Chase, massive bank, had 73 million e-mails stolen.

For most people who have or who do identify as or with [song] Straight Edge, I feel like for most people, they're just trying to do the right thing.

All the big powers... they've silenced me. So much for free speech and choice on this fundamental human right.

Follow the lead of your symptoms, for there’s usually a myth in the mess, and a mess is an expression of soul.

I think that one of the strangest things about being an actor is, it's almost freelance work.

I am at peace with God; how then can I be confounded?

Guard the secret theater of your heart. See nothing there that you do not want to see happen in reality.

I'm the kind of person who needs to feel like everything happens for a reason. When you date a guy and it goes badly, that's horrible. But if you can write a song about it, then it was worth it.

If people are not listening to you as individuals, it's always good to get together and make a stand for something.