Why does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well enough alone? Why aren't the books enough?

Whisky, I find, helps clarity of thought. And reduces pain. It has the additional virtue of making you drunk or, if taken in sufficient quantity, very drunk.

The writer has little control over personal temperament, none over historical moment, and is only partly in charge of his or her own aesthetic.

..books look as if they contain knowledge, while e-readers look as if they contain information.

Most people, in my opinion, steal much of what they are. If they didn't what poor items they would be.

The best form of government is one that is dying, because that means it’s giving way to something else.

WHORES. Necessary in the nineteenth century for the contraction of syphilis, without which no one could claim genius.