My objectives are very limited. I want to do the best I can with the talent God gave me. I hope to goodness that every novel I do gets better and better, not worse and worse.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.

The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that.

The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets -

People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.

Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.

He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.

Things are always better in the morning.

It's not necessary to tell all you know.

Writing is a process of self-discipline you must learn before you can call yourself a writer. There are people who write, but I think they're quite different from people who must write.

...but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.

You can't change reality -- only its perception.

In an age of complexity, it is not easy to live a simple life or to practice simplicity.

Often my very first flash of colour recognition, before it has been processed by the rest of the information in my brain, is the right one.

Just got back from a 5 day camping trip. No phones, no Internet, no problem. It was great. Now time for a hot shower. I absolutely reek!

The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.

How I learned to love the New World Order.

The most important time is Now

To put it mildly, the world is a mess.

Between flattery and admiration there often flows a river of contempt.

Never measure literature by accounting statistics. A quarter of working authors earn less than $1,000.