I was never able to write seriously about heroes because I was very aware that I was not one and that in my background there was not this heroic thing.

A lot of us don't want to be quite that serious about world problems. Our life is there to enjoy, not to be an eternal dissident, eternally unhappy with how things are and with the state of mankind.

Action isn’t my forte. I’m an expert on contemplation and mild regret.

I've always thought of absurdism as a French fad I'd like to belong to.

Science fiction is very healthy in its form.

I'm quite influenced in this by one of my heroes, Montaigne, who thought a man's real task was to render as honest an account of himself as he could.

It is a truism throughout the civilized galaxy that when you go to the police, your troubles really begin.

I'm not too fond of the hard work and the constant battle with self-doubt that goes on when I write, but I figure that's part of the territory.

I sell well now in Russia. I remember one signing in Russia some years ago where the bookstore had two strongmen to hold the crowds back.

Once you find you can't walk as far and as fast as you were able, life becomes more complicated.

I'm not so interested any more in how a great deal of science fiction goes. It goes into things like Star Wars and Star Trek which all go excellent in their own way.

Normal people are just freaks who are afraid to be themselves in public.

One must speak in such a way that although someone else, or many others, or an infinite number of people have said it before, it seems as though you said it first.

The heart has eyes which the brain knows nothing of.

I am simply just one monk. That's all.

I have trouble imagining what I could do that's beyond the practicality of what I can do.

Selling more of what you sell has nothing to do with what you sell. It has everything to do with your prospect's wants, needs, fears, goals, values and priorities.

My lawnmower can't change in the way that my son can or that I can.

If you like comedy, go home and curl up with Leviticus. The writers of The Onion are handed Leviticus on their first day.

Owls are wise. They are careful and patient. Wisdom precludes boldness. That is why owls make poor heroes.

The assumption that everybody will figure out how much they have to save and then will just implement that plan is obviously preposterous.