What evil does first in the world, maybe, is distract us from our pursuit of goodness.

I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And he's made of sugar.

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded . . . sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.

Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial.

Developing our sympathetic compassion is not only possible but the only reason for us to be here on earth.

According to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving. Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now.

It's a big world, and I really like it.

Character is that sum total of moments we can't explain.

The generalizing writer is like the passionate drunk, stumbling into your house mumbling: I know I'm not being clear, exactly, but don't you kind of feel what I'm feeling?

Kindness, it turns out, is hard - it starts out all rainbows and puppy dogs, and expands to include . . . well, EVERYTHING.

It’s only a book until someone loses their soul!

Learn to listen to subtle cues from your spirit instead of the barrage coming from your brain.

Love shouldn't be about jealousy or anything like that. It should be about commitment and being able to trust that person. If you can't have that from the get-go, there's a problem.

I'm ready to grow young again

Tis the hard grey weather Breeds hard English men.

The height of ability consists in a thorough knowledge of the real value of things, and of the genius of the age in which we live.

It's exciting to me that people know that I'm someone who's very political.

It is not to say that everything is fine and a positive attitude is all you need. But I share about values and principles and attitudes and I never tell people I understand their pain.

The reason for the survival of the award system is purely commercial.

My grandfather and I were very close.