I read everywhere. It's like a bodily function. I don't need quiet. I write and read with the TV on. I follow the TV show while I read. TV doesn't require a lot of brainpower.

What I've come to learn is that the world is never saved in grand messianic gestures, but in the simple accumulation of gentle, soft, almost invisible acts of compassion.

You know, you can steel your heart against any kind of trouble, any kind of horror. But the simple act of kindness from a complete stranger will unstitch you.

In this time of the Internet and nonfiction, to be on an actual bookshelf in an actual bookstore is exciting in itself.

What we know about who we are comes from stories. It's the agents of our imagination who really shape who we are.

The privilege of being a writer is that you have this opportunity to slow down and to consider things.

People think that writing is writing, but actually writing is editing. Otherwise, you're just taking notes

My friend Ronald Gottesman says...that the cause of all our trouble is the belief in an essential, pure identity: religious, ethnic, historical, ideological.

You can count on Scandinavian literature for a certain kind of darkness, a modern mythic style.

Men do communicate, often very directly, but women sometimes cannot accept how simple what we have to say is. We seldom play games--we aren't that sophisticated.

Before you speak, my friend, remember, a spiritual man contain his anger. Angry words are like slap in de face.

Our reality defines itself by people who strive for change

The world is full of stupid people. That's why we have rules. But with enough intelligence, a person can be above the rules. She can make rules.

Real hope combined with real action has always pulled me through difficult times. Real hope combined with doing nothing has never pulled me through.

Nobody says you must laugh, but a sense of humor can help you overlook the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, cope with the unexpected, and smile through the day.

The subject of bisexuality really needs much more discussion. Its a status that does exist.

Not to oversimplify it, somebody once said a good rule of thumb in interpreting a character is to find the good in the bad people that you portray and the bad in the good.

I only know that I fired twice, or perhaps several times, without knowing whether I had hit or missed

Basically, my hair is very dry from all the backcombing! Hairdressers prefer if your hair is dry and damaged, as it makes it easier to style.

I am one of those people who thrive on deadlines. Nothing brings on inspiration more readily than desperation.

I have no desire to suffer twice, in reality and then in retrospect.