To lose yourself in a book is the desire of the bookworm. I mean to be taken. That is my desire.

It would also have been helpful to have gone to a Catholic grammar school. The only people who know grammar are those people who went to Catholic grammar school. Those nuns beat it into them.

Randomness scares people. Religion is a way to explain randomness.

Contrary to what many of you may imagine, a career in letters is not without its drawbacks - chief among them the unpleasant fact that one is frequently called upon to sit down and write.

modern science was largely conceived of as an answer to the servant problem and ... it is generally practiced by those who lack a flair for conversation.

I just write when fear overtakes me.

People always say "pop culture." As if we have some high culture to distinguish it from.