No matter who you are, no matter where you live, and no matter how many people are chasing you, what you don't read is often as important as what you do read.

I'd written my first novel for adults, which was called Basic Eight and was set in a high school, and we were having a devil of a time selling it. It ended up in the hands of an editor of a children's publishing house, for which it was entirely inappropriate. She said, "Well, we can't publish this, but I think you should write something for children," which I thought was a really terrible idea.

I guess we’ll be traveling in uncharted waters.” “That’ll be fun,” Phil said.

I stayed there loving you, though the love made me, not sad but I guess melancholy, for a reason I couldn’t point to.

It was a curious feeling, that something could be so close and so distant at the same time.

This knowledge sits in my heart, heavy as a paperweight.

Criminals should be punished, not fed pastries.