It's true that writing is a solitary occupation, but you would be surprised at how much companionship a group of imaginary characters can offer once you get to know them.

Ever consider what pets must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!

I read so I can live more than one life in more than one place.

But what I hope for from a book - either one that I write or one that I read - is transparency. I want the story to shine through. I don't want to think of the writer.

It seems to me that since I've had children, I've grown richer and deeper. They may have slowed down my writing for a while, but when I did write, I had more of a self to speak from.

It is not how much you love someone, but who you are when you are with him.

The Amateur Marriage grew out of the reflection that of all the opportunities to show differences in character, surely an unhappy marriage must be the richest.

It is very difficult to live among people you love and hold back from offering them advice.

Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.

People always call it luck when you've acted more sensibly than they have.

The hardest novel to write was Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant.

I can't look at everything hard enough!

I thought, that day I started, I sure would hate to do this all my life, And dammit, that’s just what I’ve gone and done.

In case of dispute, the umpire shall throw it straight into the field.

Anytime you want to lay off the paybacks God, that'd be great.

You couldn't have human society without language.

I sometimes forget a face, but I never forget a back.

God is not saving the world; it is done. Our business is to get men and women to realize it.

It is easy to be popular. It is not easy to be just.

The more you learn, the more you know. The more you know, the more you forget. The more you forget, the less you know. So why bother to learn.

Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.