I, a late riser, fantasise about getting up every morning at 5 A.M. to fetch the horses in from the fields.

Perhaps the way to succeed is to think of life on Earth as a colossal joke, a creation of such immense stupidity that the only way to live is to laugh until you think your heart will break.

I don't get nearly enough credit in life for the things I manage not to say.

The imagination can be dangerous. It can change the world. And that is why we write.

Self-knowledge is essential not only to writing, but to doing almost anything really well. It allows you to work through from a deep place - from the deep, dark corners of your subconscious mind.

Osbert was the only one who didn't seem suspicious. He was so interested in the Decline of Western Civilization that he missed the version of it taking place under his nose.

This was what happiness felt like - this wondrous, miraculous alternative to dread.

While working in advertising, I channelled my creative energy into elaborate escape fantasies: cake making, dog breeding, the Peace Corps.

Things Happen and once they start happening you pretty much just to hold on for dear life and see where they drop you when they stop.

If you haven't been in a war and are wondering how long it takes to get used to losing everything you think you need or love, I can tell you the answer is no time at all.

The soldier had stamped my passport FAMILY in heavy black capital letters and I checked it now for reassurance and because I liked how fierce the word looked

How does one craft happiness out of something as important, as complicated, as unrepeatable and as easily damaged as life?

You are better than your past, greater than your present, and brighter than your future.

I like to kill my enemies and listen to the lamentations of their women

A lot of the characters I play are very naive, and I don't think I'm like that. And I'm not stupid!

I believe that men are generally still a little afraid of the dark, though the witches are all hung.

God is not dead; nor doth He sleep; ... The wrong shall fail, The right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men.

The English are very proud of their Parliament, and week in, week out, century after century, they have pretty good cause to be.

Love is the only passion which includes in its dreams the happiness of someone else.

There are probably five songs in the world that I get excited about when I hear them on the radio.

I want the public as well as libraries and schools to enjoy unlimited access to public-domain books. This means no charges for these kind of texts themselves.