But it's hard to talk about art. Maybe there should be a law against it, some First Amendment gag order like crying fire in a crowded theater.

I don't believe less is more. I believe that more is more. I believe that less is less, fat fat, thin thin and enough is enough.

The peculiar dignity of men seen eating alone in restaurants on national holidays

Writing is an exercise in sculpture, chipping away at the rock until you find the nose.

Life's tallest order is to keep the feelings up, to make two dollars' worth of euphoria go the distance. And life can't do that. So fiction does.

I would never write about anyone who is not at the end of his rope.

Like a lot of what happens in novels, inspiration is a sort of spontaneous combustion--the oily rags of the head and heart.

The furthest out is the only place to be.

It's fine, precise, detailed work, the infinitely small motor management of diamond cutters and safecrackers that we do in our heads.

The living and dead were thrown together, and the dead looked away first.-Description of Doomsday

But that's the thing about being the girl who's spent years convincing the world she's not afraid of anything: At some point, someone is going to find out you're afraid of everything.

When I was 8 years old, my brother was making the noises of the animals I was eating, so I decided to go vegetarian. Then I would give up because I was 8.

The life of action is nobler than the life of thought.

I seemed so different from other kids; I grew up in church and felt a connection with God, and a lot of kids my age really didn't understand that.

Take a cat, nourish it well with milk and tender meat, make it a couch of silk.

There is no man living that can not do more than he thinks he can.

There's so much more important parts other than pole vaulting.

because talent alone doesn't make an artist

You have to pay the price. You will find that everything in life exacts a price, and you will have to decide whether the price is worth the prize.

I would prefer to grow with the team inside Nintendo rather than taking anyone from outside. It would be a joy for me if someone who was working with me became a big success.