I find that when I come out of the library I’m in what I call the library bliss of being totally taken away from the distractions of li

You're so calm and quiet, you never say. But there are things inside you. I see them sometimes, hiding in your eyes.

It's those little daily incidents of life that are dramatic, and if you put a frame around it , suddenly they become much bigger and much more important than you ever imagined.

It's a rare book that wins the battle against drooping eyelids.

I find that when I come out of the library I'm in what I call the library bliss of being totally taken away from the distractions of life.

He saw things in a way that others did not, so that a city I had lived in all my life seemed a different place, so that a woman became beautiful with the light on her face.

Don't write about what you know - write about what you're interested in. Don't write about yourself - you aren't as interesting as you think.

As I get older, I use less jewelry - necklace or earrings each morning, not both; my clothes are getting more basic - fewer colours and simpler cuts; and my make-up is stripped back to basics.

The sign of a masterpiece: A painting when there's a lack of resolution.

You know I don’t listen to market gossip,” she began, “but it is hard not to hear it when my daughter’s name is mentioned.

I have consistently loved books that I've read when I've been sick in bed.

Develop your soul into independence!

The good old days are neither better nor worse than the ones we're living through right now.

No, I always wanted to be an actress.

My manuscripts sleep, while I cannot, for I am covered with poultices.

Their smiles are lies. Most smiles are.

I release all criticism. I only give out that which I wish to receive in return. My love and acceptance of others is mirrored to me in every moment.

The cornerstone of effective leadership is self-mastery.

I always took photographs. I photographed a lot of trees, by the way, which is another image I used often in my work, the tree image.

Slavery is now nowhere more patiently endured, than in countries once inhabited by the zealots of liberty.

libraries are fascinating places: sometimes you feel you are under the canopy of a railway station, and when you read books about exotic places there's a feeling of travelling to distant lands