Me and my books, in the same apartment: like a gherkin in its vinegar.

The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.

The writer must be universal in sympathy and an outcast by nature: only then can he see clearly.

What is the easiest, the most comfortable thing for a writer to do? To congratulate the society in which he lives: to admire its biceps, applaud its progress, tease it endearingly about its follies.

Women scheme when they are weak, they lie out of fear. Men scheme when they are strong, they lie out of arrogance.

The best form of government is one that is dying, because that means it’s giving way to something else.

Irony - The modern mode: either the devil’s mark or the snorkel of sanity.

The best life for a writer is the life which helps him write the best books he can.

If the writer were more like a reader, he’d be a reader, not a writer. It’s as uncomplicated as that.

He didn’t really like travel, of course. He liked the idea of travel, and the memory of travel, but not travel itself.

To be stupid, and selfish, and to have good health are the three requirements for happiness - though if stupidity is lacking, the others are useless.

April fool, n. The March fool with another month added to his folly.

You can't tell yourself that your stress is produced in your head and feel better. You still need to learn how to create a change.

Being in touch with the natural world is crucial.

Unfortunately, Poots is the name that I've been graced with for my life, but it's not short for anything.

Memories are like water.

Boys always get the best eyelashes; it's like some kind of cosmic law. And half-breed kids get some kind of extra help there from genetics, too.

When you can't solve the problem, manage it.

Why be formal when you can be fabulously feral? Why be conventional when you can be happy?

Kids can't look up to girls who are trying to be growner than they are.