We had put almost all of our possessions in storage, which was a metaphor for being twenty, as were so many things.

It is like having a book out from the library. It is like constantly having a book out from the library.

I wondered about the half-life of regret.

They had, finally, the only thing anyone really wants in life: someone to hold your hand when you die.

I've never been to a dinner party where everyone at the dinner table didn't say something funny.

The detachment of the artist is kind of creepy. It's kind of rude, and yet really it's where art comes from. It's not the same as courage. It's closer to bad manners than to courage. If you're going to be a writer, you basically have to say, 'this is just who I am'. There's a certain indefensibility about it. It's not about loving your community and taking care of it — you're not attached to the chamber of commerce. It's a little unsafe. You have to be willing to have only four friends, not 11.

Adults are living increasingly as children: completely in their imaginations. Reading Harry Potter while every newspaper in the country goes out of business. They know so little that is real.