I always had the uncomfortable feeling that if I wasn't sitting in front of a computer typing, I was wasting my time - but I pushed myself to take a wider view of what was "productive." Time spent with my family and friends was never wasted.

Enthusiasm is a form of social courage.

We need to have intimate, enduring bonds; we need to be able to confide; we need to feel that we belong; we need to be able to get support, and just as important for happiness, to give support. We need many kinds of relationships; for one thing, we need friends.

Now that I've relinquished my fantasies of all the people I wish I could be, and stopped feeling guilty about not going to the opera or pretending that I want to attend a foreign policy lecture, I have more time for the things that I truly enjoy.

Reading makes me want to write my own books, and just trying to understand what I see in the world around me makes me want to figure things out.

One of the most important lessons of childhood is discovering what you like to do.

I have a passion for children's literature. Young adult literature. I love it. I've always loved it.