I'm very sentimental about lobsters. The last lobster I ate was the only lobster I cooked.

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.

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.

The quality of gifts depends on the sincerity of the giver.

To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall .... [p.218 ff.]

If anybody had shown me the paperwork for how my life was going to look in five years, I would have said, "No. That is not where I want to go."

The thing you can count on in life is that Tennessee will always be scorching hot in August.