Why does a person even get up in the morning? You have breakfast, you floss your teeth so you'll have healthy gums in your old age, and then you get in your car and drive down I-10 and die. Life is so stupid I can't stand it.

the conspicuous consumption of limited resources has yet to be accepted widely as a spiritual error, or even bad manners

I think the most interesting parts of human experience might be the sparks that come from that sort of chipping flint of cultures rubbing against each other.

...nothing momentous comes in this world unless it comes on the shoulders of kindness.

Libraries are the one American institution you shouldn't rip off.

No other continent has endured such an unspeakably bizarre combination of foreign thievery and foreign goodwill.

there are people who read my work and accuse me of being political! As far as I'm concerned that's like accusing a dog of having a bark!