Yes, it's quite amazing how I continue to shock my mother even after all these years together

Shame can kill the imagination. It's hard to keep writing in the face of cultural derision.

God Almighty, your ruined, and you didn't even eat the gingerbread.

Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later.

It’s better to live like a flame, to know a man and love him even if he can’t be yours, then never to love at all.

Yes Leopold," Eleanor said in a low, mocking voice. "Do start to shine, please. I think I saw the rising, but I definitely missed the shining.

Chess is the most intimate game in the world. It's like making love. By the time we finish our first slow game, I will know all his thoughts.