I want to resume the life of a shy person.

I was an English major at the University of Minnesota, and I was very shy, which many people misinterpreted as intelligence. On the basis of that wrong impression, I became the editor of the campus literary magazine.

Sometimes you have to avoid mentioning things because people's feelings are tender.

Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have.

Where I'm from we don't trust paper. Wealth is what's here on the premises. If I open a cupboard and see, say, thirty cans of tomato sauce and a five-pound bag of rice, I get a little thrill of well-being - much more so than if I take a look at the quarterly dividend report from my mutual fund.

When you're a little kid, your heart is open and tender and a harsh word can go straight in and become part of your life.

I write on a laptop, so it's impossible to count drafts anymore.