You despise a man for avarice; but you do not hate him.

Cucumber should be well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.

Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.

When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.

Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.

A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning is like a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hopes he may hit.

There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain.

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts.

Beauty is an advantage, smile is guarantee.

Anyone can go online and write anything they want about people they don't even know, and most of the time, that is fueled by hate. The sad part is that people actually believe what they read online.

One can't learn much and also be comfortable One can't learn much and let anybody else be comfortable

He was going through one of those moments that you read about in books, when a character reacts in an unexpectedly extreme way to the normal discontents of living.

Art is literacy of the heart

Bruce Springsteen's a rock star. Elton John is a rock star. I'm a folk musician. Honestly, I think that's true.

If there's a narrative, I want it in the flesh.

I think it's always a challenge to adapt something from one medium to another - a novel into a film or a play into a movie or whatever.

Writing a book is incredibly pleasurable, but very solitary. You have total control, but sometimes that can drive you insane.

A sheep who goes looking for a wolf is sure to find one.