The lie, of course, is more interesting.

You don't have to be in the habit of going to church to listen to such a literary minister; you don't have to be a believer to be moved by Mr. Buechner's faith.

You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes. No, you have to be able to imagine something else. While you're skipping rope, you have to be able to see something else.

You can give yourself a headache trying to decipher the tattoos on a naked man who’s leaping up and down on a bed.

I've always been a fan of the 19th century novel, of the novel that is plotted, character-driven, and where the passage of time is almost as central to the novel as a major minor character, the passage of time and its effect on the characters in the story.

...every study of the gods, of everyone's gods, is a revelation of vengeance towards the innocent.

My dear boy, please don’t put a label on me—don’t make me a category before you get to know me!