A good book is a good book, and there are a lot of different ways to approach writing or reading one.

Nobody thinks that there were never mechanical horses in the world. Everybody knows that there aren't really golems.

Teaching is enormously satisfying because I'm constantly learning more. Just constantly being exposed to new voices and new life experiences and new worldviews and new structural dilemmas and new characters - it's really exciting for me.

As I continue to teach, I have more to offer my students, and as I continue to teach, I have more to learn from my students. I do know some writers who feel very drained when they leave the classroom, and for me this would be a sign that maybe it's time to take a break or refocus because I always leave the classroom even more excited than I was when I walked in.

I tend to think of writing as a more collaborative project than I think some people do.

As a Jewish thinker, I don't think of myself in relationship to the dominant culture's religion.

I'm not for it [Brookland and The Testament of Yves Gundron ], I'm not against it, I'm just interested in it and how it functions, but I think that, in some senses, in those two novels, that was difficult for people to see.