...One reason I became a writer was that I figured out that if you call yourself a writer, you can read all you want and people think that you are working.

The name we give to something shapes our attitude toward it.

To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.

It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading.

Peace is not won by those who fiercely guard their differences, but by those who with open minds and hearts seek out connections.

I love revision. Where else can spilled milk be turned into ice cream?

As much pleasure as young people get from Twittering and texting, there is no way these activities will nourish their minds and spirits the way literature can.

Reading can be a road to freedom or a key to a secret garden, which, if tended, will transform all of life.

As I look back on what I have written, I can see that the very persons who have taken away my time are those who have given me something to say.

Some folks are natural born kickers. They can always find a way to turn disaster into butter.

I love to read. But I loved to read a lot longer than I started to love writing.

-Bumblebee bat, how do you see at night?-I make a squeaky sound that bounces back from whatever it hits. I see by hearing.

It's best not to get settled on things being a certain way, I realized. Life had a funny way if interrupting your plans.

I'm a bit of a nerd, I wouldn't mind working in a shop selling records, or having a radio show where I could play obscure singles.

My dad was proud of himself when he farted. He sounds like he's strangling a chicken when he farts.

I have been extremely lucky with reviewers and critics throughout my career.

I don't define myself by my body's ability to execute gorgeous asana anymore. I'm all about taking care of my temple and understanding that its requirements change with age and time.

It's men you should be afraid of, not monsters.

Civilization is the process of reducing the infinite to the finite.

The activity affected by causes like fainting, sleep, excessive joy, grief, possession by spirits, fear etc goes to the heart, its own place.

What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.