What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.

A house built on greed cannot long endure.

If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.

But of the seven deadly sins, wrath is the healthiest - next only to lust.

And if the computer gives you any back talk, pour some well-sugared office coffee into its evil little silicon brain.

I would not sacrifice a single living mesquite tree for any book ever written. One square mile of living desert is worth a hundred 'great books' - and one brave deed is worth a thousand.

Ah yes, the head is full of books. The hard part is to force them down through the bloodstream and out through the fingers.

Instant communication is not communication at all but merely a frantic, trivial, nerve-wracking bombardment of cliches, threats, fads, fashions, gibberish and advertising.

Not all questions can be answered.

Readers, not critics, are the people who determine a book's eventual fate.

In the land of bleating sheep and braying jackasses, one brave and honest man is bound to create a scandal.

Middle age is when your old classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald they don't recognize you.

What does not kill you will make you stronger and more cynical.

It's an ancient and honorable term for the final step in any engineering project. Turn it on, see if it smokes.

Life is a series of a thousand tiny miracles.

I think we're all brothers - that's the truth. But the press gave us the name black Muslims to cut us off from the others.

I would read. I would explore

If I did have the impulse to be a parent, I would adopt - or foster.

I think it's more fun to play a hero with an edge.

So when you look at the eschaton what you see, strangely enough, is your own face.

I have to stop crying when I watch "The View". It's not because of the topics at hand, I just feel sorry for that couch.