We are surrounded by story.

We turned onto the last landing. Going out with this guy, I thought, would involve a lot of silly laughter, some wit--the buzz of his whispered wisecracks in my ear. But there would be as well his willingness to reveal, or more his inability to conceal, that he had been silently rehearsing my name as he climbed the stairs behind me. There would be his willingness to bestow upon me the power to reassure him. He would trust me with his happiness.

It now appears that the world is filled with people who believe that everyone should be interested in everything they have to say about anything - people who tweet, you might call them. I find this so astonishing, my own hubris pales in comparison.

I'd like to be better at short, snappy answers.

I'm always telling my students, don't - don't worry so much third person, first person. It doesn't make that much difference.

A book tour is, first and foremost, an exercise in humility.

We are surrounded by story.