[On men:] ... you never know what they're like until you get them home and take them out of their packages.

You can take my heart, but I can't let you take my dog.

Don't try to follow in my footsteps. Make your own footsteps! No one else can tell the stories that are inside of you except for you.

Keeping libraries open, giving access to all children to all books is vital to our nation's sovereignty.

I never felt isolated; I just liked being alone. I think that some people are good at being alone, and some people arent, and as a child, I really liked it.

Reading is not just an escape. It is access to a better way of life.

Everybody had something horrible happen to them at one time or another in their life.

As a Southerner, I love obstacles for my characters.

Everyone had a reason for everything they did, even if that reason was sometimes stupidity.

You didn't realize what was passing you by until you slowed down a little bit to get a better look.

People just make stupid mistakes. And they keep making them and keep making them, and suddenly they can't dig themselves out.

My one true love remains my self... I dump myself occasionally to keep it interesting

Enslavement of the heart is worse than enslavement of the body

For him and his brother, he now knew, that music was real. Becuase all you had to do, really, was be willing to use your imagination. And listen.

A leader helps others to reach their full leadership potential.

I don't think my kids have to worry too much about me embarrassing them because that's not how I would want to grow up, with wacky dad showing up at school and performing for everyone.

Someone once said a cynic is just a disappointed romantic. That really, really sums me up.

I grew up rock climbing.

It's always fun to walk down the street with or behind a really beautiful woman, for no reason other than to see how the world reacts to them.

I didn't know at the time I was writing Because of Winn-Dixie where the story came from, but in retrospect I can see that it was a response to a terribly harsh winter here in Minnesota.

If I got a superpower I wouldn't say, oh, I got to get a costume and put on a mask. I would say hey, I can do something better than other people. How can I turn it into a buck?