There's a socialist bias to the consensus of the literary world: a '30s mentality that says factory workers are more worthy of our attention.

I think men talk to women so they can sleep with them and women sleep with men so they can talk to them.

I'd like to have the kind of house someday where a carousel horse wouldn't be out of place in the living room.

Sometimes I think the difference between what we want and what we're afraid of is about the width of an eyelash.

The capacity for friendship is God's way of apologizing for our families.

Delia's arms were inscribed with a grid of self- inflicted wounds, an intricate text of self-loathing

I like the fact that I'm living in the world rather than in a university.

If it's red, French, costs too much, and tastes like the water that's left in the vase after the flowers have died and rotted, it's probably Burgundy.

Reading a novel is just a much more involving and intimate experience than the act of watching a film. I mean, you literally get inside of a novelist's head, and you invest many hours to do so.

The most interesting things that happen in my books are usually the things that arise spontaneously, the things that surprise me.

Most novelists I know went through a period of intense self-examination and self-loathing after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. I certainly did.

I'd spent so long trying to fit in, trying to be someone i wasn't, that i had no idea who i was any more.

It is not commercial success but originality and proof of autonomy which are admired.

Sometimes a cigar is just a smoke and a coincidence is just a coincidence.

I'd rater share the glory of a hit than star by myself in a flop

Name one hero who was happy.

There is overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem, the more likely one will be to treat others with respect, kindness, and generosity.

All we can do now is try to prevent secondary damage by relieving pressure on the brain caused by the initial injury. There is no reparative treatment for traumatic brain injury.

An artist's fine goal is to manifest a well-nigh heroic self-discipline, carefully attending to all that concerns him.

We do always have to make sure we keep people safe. There are the right ways of doing it, and then there are ways that are ineffective.

Study and keep your attention on whatever it is you're going into. Build a good team. The team needs to know what it's doing They need to be people you can trust and people you can work well with.