The older I get, the more I appreciate my rural childhood. I spent a lot of time outdoors, unsupervised, which is a blessing.

Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's, come to think of it. Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet.

People read books to escape the uncertainties of life.

How strange to read of a place in a book, and then stand on it, listen to the birds sing, and spit on the cobbles if you want.

Food culture in the United States has long been cast as the property of a privileged class. It is nothing of the kind. Culture is the property of a species.

When you pick up a novel from the bed side table, you put down your own life at the same time and you become another person for the duration.

God doesn’t need to punish us. He just grants us a long enough life to punish ourselves.