I look at my father, who was in many ways an unhappy person, but who, not long before he got sick, said that the greatest source of satisfaction in his life had been going to work in the company of other workers.

The figure of my father looms large in my imagination.

I guess my life hasn’t always been happy, or easy, or exactly what I want. At a certain point, I just have to try not to think too much about certain things, or else they’ll break my heart.

When I was younger, the main struggle was to be a 'good writer.' Now I more or less take my writing abilities for granted, although this doesn't mean I always write well.

The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.

His tiredness hurt so much it kept him awake.

Twitter is unspeakably irritating. Twitter stands for everything I oppose.