As a seasoned insomniac, I knew sometimes the way to beat sleeplessness was to outwit it: to pretend you didn't care about sleeping. Then sometimes sleep became piqued, like a rejected lover, and crept up to try to seduce you.

Without the gods, how would I sing?' I asked. With your own voice,' he said.

I think men have always been afraid of women's sexuality, and the restrictions they put on women testify to that.

Famous people complain about fame, but they never want to give it back, myself included.

A book burrows into your life in a very profound way because the experience of reading is not passive.

I do believe that in every age there are people whose consciousness transcends their own time and that these people, whether fictional or historical, are those with whom we most closely identify and those about whom we most enjoy reading.

Gossip is the opiate of the oppressed.