That adage about 'Write what you know' is basically the opposite of the way I function. I write about what I'm curious to find out.

I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would be easier if you didnt exist.

If I had a view like this to look down on every day, I would have the energy and inspiration to conquer the world. The trouble is, when you most need such a view, no one gives it to you.

Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.

Goon Squad' took about three years to write and that's the short end. My second novel, 'Look at Me,' took six years.

I don’t want to fade away, I want to flame away - I want my death to be an attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art.

Because you can't write habitually and well all the time, you have to be willing to write badly. That's how you get the regularity that enables you to be present for the good stuff.

Reading is the nourishment that lets you do interesting work.

I'm always happy," Sasha said. "Sometimes I just forget.

The answers were maddeningly absent—it was like trying to remember a song that you knew made you feel a certain way, without a title, artist, or even a few bars to bring it back.

Vinegar: that's what fear smells like.

The future starts within a second from now.The past was, within a second ago.

I share my happiness and sorrowCos I know for once there will be no tomorrowIf I wish to live in your memoriesI too have to be there to share your worriesSpeak up to your friend, am just a call away

For some there is no musicNo lightsNo fireNo untamed madness that breathes lifeThere is workAnguishFrustrationRageDespairA dullness that rings like wooden thunder

In the fight against terrorism, national agencies keep full control over their police forces, security and intelligence agencies and judicial authorities.

Why could you smoke all of those cigarettes? It’s not like they are making you better… they are killing you. It seemed real idiotic to me.

"Open Arms" has a lot of unison singing in it. And it works: Grown men will come to our gigs and cry during that one.

We're obviously going to spend a lot in marketing because we think the product sells itself.

But no one can praise Roosevelt for doing this and then insist that he restored our traditional political and economic systems to their former vitality.

If you're a young person, like I used to be and you're at home and you're being called weird or different, I'm here to tell you your critics do not count. Their words will fade. You won't.

My feeling is, music is a more eloquent international language than Coca-Cola or McDonalds.