I was uncomfortable writing fiction. My love was the personal essay rather than the novel.

Good books put a finger on emotions that are deeply our own - but that we could never have described on our own.

Many moments in religion seem attractive to me even though I can't believe in any of it.

To one's enemies: "I hate myself more than you ever could.

The dream of the news is that it makes us care about other people and situations. But we cannot identify with people to whom we haven't been introduced. Humans will only respond to art, to people who are skilled in making you care.

That said, deciding to avoid other people does not necessarily equate with having no desire whatsoever for company; it may simply reflect a dissatisfaction with what—or who—is available. Cynics are, in the end, only idealists with awkwardly high standards. In Chamfort's words, 'It is sometimes said of a man who lives alone that he does not like society. This is like saying of a man that he does not like going for walks because he is not fond of walking at night in the forêt de Bondy.

Though it may feel otherwise, enjoying life is no more dangerous than apprehending it with continuous anxiety and gloom.