Colin emphatically pushed the book cover shut when he finished reading. "Did you like it?" His dad asked. "Yup," Colin said. He liked all books, because he liked the mere act of reading, the magic of turning scratches on a page into words inside his head.

I fear oblivion. I fear it like the proverbial blind man who's afraid of the dark.

I think people who are religious are more likely to want one around, but it's a very secular position.

In retrospect Hank I don't know why I spent four years writing this book when I could have just made a hit sing-a-ma-jig album.

I leave, and the leaving is so exhilarating I know I can never go back. But then what? Do I just keep leaving places, and leaving them, and leaving them, tramping a perpetual journey?

I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.

Caring doesn't sometimes lead to misery. It always does.