..books look as if they contain knowledge, while e-readers look as if they contain information.

A pier is a disappointed bridge; yet stare at it for long enough and you can dream it to the other side of the Channel.

Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised some people prefer books.

The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.

The writer must be universal in sympathy and an outcast by nature: only then can he see clearly.

The land of embarrassment and breakfast.

When you read a great book, you don't escape from life, you plunge deeper into it.

History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.

What is the easiest, the most comfortable thing for a writer to do? To congratulate the society in which he lives: to admire its biceps, applaud its progress, tease it endearingly about its follies.

Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s where we found the other person, and find them still.

The more you learn, the less you fear. "Learn" not in the sense of academic study, but in the practical understanding of life.

I was always good at math and science and physics.

I grew up as a Southern Baptist with strict adherence to the Bible, which I read as a youngster.

Children are excellent observers, and will often perceive your slightest defects. In general, those who govern children, forgive nothing in them, but everything in themselves

You must not blame me if I do talk to the clouds.

Man has long found solace in good talk to offset bad conduct.

The worst thing about living in this world, in general, is that things get overwhelming, and things cause a tremendous amount of despair and anxiety.

What we love about love is the fever, which marriage puts to bed and cures.

The hardest part is starting. Once you get that out of the way, you'll find the rest of the journey much easier.

The quality of our breath expresses our inner feelings.

I happen to think that American politics is one of the noblest arts of mankind; and I cannot do anything else but write about it.