The severing of an established connection is exponentially more painful than the rejection of an attempted connection.

My worst character flaw that I'm conscious of is that I tend to think my way into circles instead of resolving anything. It's paralyzing and boring for people around me.

A novelist has to know enough about a subject to fool the passenger next to him on an airplane.

Look, man, we'd probably most of us agree that these are dark times, and stupid ones, but do we need fiction that does nothing but dramatize how dark and stupid everything is?

The point of books is to combat loneliness.

What teachers and the administration in that era never seemed to see was that the mental work of what they called daydreaming often required more effort and concentration than it would have taken simply to listen in class. Laziness is not the issue. It is just not the work dictated by the administration.

It's weird to feel like you miss someone you're not even sure you know.