Making books has always felt very connected to my bookselling experience, that of wanting to draw people's attention to things that I liked, to shape things that I liked into new shapes.

I try not to become too regular an addict of any one subculture.

I never take any notes or draw charts or make elaborate diagrams, but I hold an image of the shape of a book in my head and work from that mental hologram.

I've never related to the work geek at all-it sounds much more horrible than nerd. Like a freak biting a chicken's head off in a sideshow.

I learned to write fiction the way I learned to read fiction - by skipping the parts that bored me.

Someday I would change my name to Shut Up and save everybody a lot of time.

I work on a laptop specifically so I can work in cafes and pretend I'm part of the human world.

What age is a black boy when he learns he's scary?

It was only as I wrote about fear that I began to find paths of access to feelings that were intolerable to me then.

I want what we all want," said Carl. "To move certain parts of the interior of myself into the exterior world, to see if they can be embraced.

I can't bear the silent ringing in my skull.

Either be a good parent to your career or just give your dream up for adoption.

As every reader knows in his or her heart, there is much more to truth than mere fact.

Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.

When you hold on to anger and unforgiveness, you can't move forward.

I don't find anything interesting about the choices a character faces in major films or theater projects. The characters are just cut-out dolls with the American flag sewn on them.

Our vision is not just of economic growth, but also of a growth which would improve the life of the common man.

How easy it was to lie when one had to lie!

Im not attracted to expensive things.

All we really want is love's confusing joy.

Desire God, and you will have desires from God.