The poorer children were, to her mind, often better behaved, less whiny, more creative in making use of their own time, and have a well-developed sense of independence.

I don't really collect books. I tend to lose interest in them the minute I've read them, so most of the books I've read are left in airplanes and hotel rooms.

A book, I was taught long ago in English class, is a living and breathing document that grows richer with each new reading.

You can't concentrate on doing anything if you are thinking, “What's gonna happen if it doesn't go right?

The single most important thing a city can do is provide a community where interesting, smart people want to live with their families.

We have, as human beings, a storytelling problem. We're a bit too quick to come up with explanations for things we don't really have an explanation for.

There’s this powerful phrase in the legal world, “Difficult cases make bad law.” The exception is the difficult case. You can’t generalize them by definition. So although they are fascinating, they don’t solve any problem because they’re so one of a kind.