I think most serious and omnivorous readers are alike- intense in their dedication to the word, quiet-minded, but relieved and eagerly talkative when they meet other readers and kindred spirits.

The monotony of staying in one place is the best thing for writing a novel. Having regular habits, a kind of security, but especially no big surprises, no shocks.

I don't want to be the honored guest. I want to be the invisible person.

People who don't read books a lot are threatened by books.

I greatly enjoyed Tom Reiss's The Orientalist, for its mingled scholarship and sleuthing, and for so elegantly solving the puzzle of one of the Twentieth Century's most mysterious writers.

Loneliness in travel directs you and tells you about yourself. You don't become lonely unless you're alone.

You can't want to be a writer. You have to be one.