As I get older I find that the friendships that are the most certain, ultimately, are the ones where you and the other person have made substantial amounts of money for one another.

As much as I care about historical context - I'm very eager to read a really great historical account.

Writing is a necessity and often a pleasure, but at the same time, it can be a great burden and a terrible struggle.

You could grow up in the city where history was made and still miss it all.

I listen to music all the time. I write while listening to music. And I tell myself that the music nourishes the art forms that I do master and domesticate, and have authority over.

Making books has always felt very connected to my bookselling experience, that of wanting to draw people's attention to things that I liked, to shape things that I liked into new shapes.

The world's large enough and interesting enough to take a different approach each time you sit down to write about it.