Every page was once a blank page, just as every word that appears on it now was not always there, but instead reflects the final result of countless large and small deliberations. All the elements of good writing depend on the writer's skill in choosing one word instead of another. And what grabs and keeps our interest has everything to do with those choices.

People see everything through the lens of their obsessions.

I wrote about four novels before I wrote a word of journalism.

Reading was like eating alone, with that same element of bingeing.

A lot of girls who turn into something remarkable start off as irrepressible, confident and a handful.

Traditionally, the love of reading has been born and nurtured in high school English class

I think poets are much more dramatic, more theatrical than fiction writers.