Books turn people into isolated individuals, and once that's happened, the road only grows rockier. Books wire you to want to be Steve McQueen, but the world wants you to be SMcQ23667bot@hotmail.com.

Ten commandments yet seven deadly sins: conflict?

You wait for fate to bring about the changes in life which you should be bringing about by yourself.

We want our idols to be dead because it makes death a much less scary place.

I think God is how you deal with everything that's out of your own control.

Time erases both the best and the worst of us.

Once he entered my life, I promptly forgot all my years of putting on a brave face while browsing at bookstores until closing time, and of having one, two, three beers while watching crime shows and CNN. I completely forgot the hateful sensation of loneliness, like thirst and hunger together pressing on my stomach.