Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic beings. Following complex story lines stretches our brains beyond the 140 characters of sound-bite thinking, and staying within the world of a novel gives us the ability to be quiet and alone, two skills that are disappearing faster than the polar icecaps.

That was the way things worked. When you were looking for the big fight, the moment that you thought would knock everything over, nothing much happened at all.

There can be something cruel about people who have had good fortune. They equate it with personal goodness.

Coming back is the thing that enables you to see how all the dots in your life are connected.

It was never the right time or it was always the right time, depending on how you looked at it.

Keeping people safe is a story we tell ourselves.

You can't say, "I'm too busy writing to be political." You are one person.