I think coexisting with another life form is a very rich experience. It's why people keep plants and animals.

Orchid hunting is a mortal occupation.

I think of myself as something of a connoisseur of procrastination, creative and dogged in my approach to not getting things done.

Living in a rural setting exposes you to so many marvelous things - the natural world and the particular texture of small-town life, and the exhilarating experience of open space.

You have to simply love writing, and you have to remind yourself often that you love it.

Libraries are what is best about us as a society: open, exciting, rich, informative, free, inclusive, engaging.

One of the very best reasons for having children is to be reminded of the incomparable joys of a snow day.

A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder.

An ordinary life examined closely reveals itself to be exquisite and complicated and exceptional, somehow managing to be both heroic and plain.

There's a marvelous sense of mastery that comes with writing a sentence that sounds exactly as you want it to.

Even after I'd published three books and had been writing full-time for twenty years, my father continued to urge me to go to law school.

God won’t give you more than you can handle.’” Holiday chuckled. “And we just wish He didn’t trust us so much, right?

Your life is not a dress rehearsal - this is it! It's show time!

Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.

Everyone holds a piece of the truth.

Religion is not a bridge between God and Man; it is a Great Wall of China between them!

Fear is the loneliest feeling. You can be in a throng of people, but if you're afraid, you're on your own.

Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.

Before, I used to ask permission to my parents to leave the house. Now it's - I ask permission to my children to leave the house. They own the house.

Writing is the only place I can be myself and not feel judged.

I'd rather win two or three, lose one, win two or three more. I'm a great believer in things evening out. If you win a whole bunch in a row, somewhere along the line you're going to lose some, too.