Reading develops cognitive skills. It trains our minds to think critically and to question what you are told. This is why dictators censor or ban books. It's why it was illegal to teach slaves to read. It's why girls in developing countries have acid thrown in their faces when they walk to school.

I don't understand people who say they're bored. Look out your window.

I'm sold as a literary writer in Holland; I'm sold as crime fiction in England. I think of it as just literature.

Every successful author I know faced crushing rejection early on, and they got back up and kept going.

You can take my heart, but I can't let you take my dog.

I was with a real jerk after the first heartbreak, and once I did the prerequisite eating an entire cake and singing "All By Myself" in the shower, I realized that people treat you badly when you let them, and that I had to respect myself and not let anyone else treat me that way again. If someone really loves you, they are your biggest champion, not your biggest detractor.

You didn't realize what was passing you by until you slowed down a little bit to get a better look.