I'm always happy," Sasha said. "Sometimes I just forget.

I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would be easier if you didnt exist.

If I had a view like this to look down on every day, I would have the energy and inspiration to conquer the world. The trouble is, when you most need such a view, no one gives it to you.

Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.

Goon Squad' took about three years to write and that's the short end. My second novel, 'Look at Me,' took six years.

I don’t want to fade away, I want to flame away - I want my death to be an attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art.

Because you can't write habitually and well all the time, you have to be willing to write badly. That's how you get the regularity that enables you to be present for the good stuff.

Reading is the nourishment that lets you do interesting work.

The answers were maddeningly absent—it was like trying to remember a song that you knew made you feel a certain way, without a title, artist, or even a few bars to bring it back.

Vinegar: that's what fear smells like.

I think ethical ambivalence is a kind of innoculation, a way of excusing yourself in advance for something you actually want to do. No offense.

When I turn back to Jase, he’s again beaming at me. “You’re nice.” He sounds pleased, as if he hadn’t expected this aspect of my personality.

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

War is politics by other means.

To be in one's own heart in kindly sympathy with all things; this is the nature of righteousness

Focus on the positives is what I teach my kids. The rest takes care of itself.

I was trying to play as real possible - I wanted everything to be real.

Not only has President Bush broken his word on funding, he has not put in the effort required to turn this excellent idea into a lifesaving reality.

I try to live right. I always try to adhere to what I think is right, and that, to me, is the most important part of creative work.

In times of crisis, it is of utmost importance to keep one's head.

If you label me, you negate me?