Oversized houses, like oversized cars, seem to be a particularly American fixation.

Orchid hunting is a mortal occupation.

I think of myself as something of a connoisseur of procrastination, creative and dogged in my approach to not getting things done.

Living in a rural setting exposes you to so many marvelous things - the natural world and the particular texture of small-town life, and the exhilarating experience of open space.

You have to simply love writing, and you have to remind yourself often that you love it.

Libraries are what is best about us as a society: open, exciting, rich, informative, free, inclusive, engaging.

One of the very best reasons for having children is to be reminded of the incomparable joys of a snow day.

A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder.

An ordinary life examined closely reveals itself to be exquisite and complicated and exceptional, somehow managing to be both heroic and plain.

There's a marvelous sense of mastery that comes with writing a sentence that sounds exactly as you want it to.

Even after I'd published three books and had been writing full-time for twenty years, my father continued to urge me to go to law school.

If we're to be judged by our parents and grandparents, then we all may as well impale ourselves upon jagged bits of rock.

The gift we can offer others is so simple a thing as hope.

I don't believe in gutter politics. I don't believe in gutter journalism.

Sistani’s office refuses the replacement of the law because it is not an Iraqi demand but it is a political demand to please some sides.

That's kind of creepy.

The growth of The Body Shop is testimony to the fact that you don't need to waste money on costly advertising campaigns to be successful. Instead, we've always relied on word of mouth and stories.

To be fond of learning is near to wisdom.

I actually wanted to be a tennis player.

Well, I've had my fair share in Britain of battling the tabloids.

We now have the sweetest, kindest and most generous fans from far away places - it’s a real privilege.