E-books are great for instant gratification - you see a review somewhere of a book that interests you, and you can start reading it five minutes later.

I've always thought I could use my brain and my heart to jockey everyone around to the good. But life is not jockeyable. When you try, you make people infinitely crazier than they already were, including or especially yourself.

E-books are great for instant gratification - you see a review somewhere of a book that interests you, and you can start reading it five minutes later.

So Rita and I decided that the most subversive, revolutionary thing I could do was to show up for my life and not be ashamed.

Alice Adams wrote a sweet note to me after my first novel came out when I was 26, and I was so blown away that I sent her a bunch of stamps by return mail. I have no idea what I was thinking. It was a star-struck impulse.

Life does not seem to present itself to me for my convenience, to box itself up nicely so I can write about it with wisdom and a point to make before putting it on a shelf somewhere.

If you have a body, you are entitled to the full range of feelings. It comes with the package.