Writing a poem is like having an affair, a one-night stand; a short story is a romance, a relationship; a novel is a marriage-one has to be cunning, devise compromises, and make sacrifices.

Every single pleasure I can imagine or have experienced is more delightful, more of a pleasure, if you take it in small sips, if you take your time. Reading is not an exception.

Fundamentalist s live life with an exclamation point. I prefer to live my life with a question mark.

Words create conceptions and self-conceptions and ultimately nations. They can start and stop wars. They can would and heal. Choosing words carefully is a moral responsibility.

A conflict begins and ends in the hearts and minds of people, not in the hilltops.

All of my novels are democracies.

The only way to keep a dream, any dream at all, to keep a dream perfect and rosy and intact and unsullied is never to live it out.

The opposite of compromise is not integrity. The opposite of compromise is not idealism. The opposite of compromise is fanaticism and death.

I wrote The Same Sea not as a political allegory about Israelis and Palestinians. I wrote it about something much more gutsy and immediate. I wrote it as a piece of chamber music.

Now, Israel is a fulfillment, and as a fulfillment, it is flawed. The fact that it is flawed is not so much a testimony about the failures of Israel. No, it is a testimony about the nature of dreams.

One of the things I wanted to introduce in The Same Sea beyond transcending the conflict, is the fact that deep down below all our secrets are the same.

Ever hear a song you love so much you wanna break sh*t?

She's beautiful and therefore to be woo'd: She is a woman therefore to be won.

None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.

I just try to be myself, whatever that is. I don't think about how I'll be remembered. I just want to be consistent over a long period of time. That's what the great players do.

Myleene Klass is just the bomb. Her boyfriend is very lucky. She is a definite ten in every sense of the word.

Half to forget the wandering and pain, Half to remember days that have gone by, And dream and dream that I am home again!

We ought to thank President Bush. He made it a lot easier for people to do taxes this year. No job, no income tax this year.

Vicke is so fat that she wakes up in sections.

We all make mistakes, but everyone makes different mistakes

Plans get you into things, but you got to work your way out.