As a child of the 1970s, I couldn't hold a narrative in my head; I was lucky if I could hold a joke in my head, because every time you turn on television or radio, it wipes the slate clean - at least in my case. After I gave up television, I found I could carry longer and longer stories or ideas in my head and put them together until I was carrying an entire short story. That's pretty much when I started writing.

What they don't teach you in art school is how your whole life is about discovering who you already were.

Your past is just a story. And once you realize this it has no power over you.

No matter how many luxuries you get, something will be missing. No matter how carefully you choose, you'll never be totally happy.

When we don't know who to hate, we hate ourselves.

New carpet will exude poisonous formaldehyde for up to two years after it'd been laid. I know the feeling.

The truth is, immigrants tend to be more American than people born here.