I fall into books the way I fall into lust - wholly, hungrily.

To name the world in your own terms, to tell your own story, is an act of authority and power. When you write, you are saying, in effect, 'I have a voice. I have a story. This is what I have to say.'

Of the five senses, smell is the one with the best memory.

I fall into books the way I fall into lust - wholly, hungrily.

Effective metaphor does more than shed light on the two things being compared. It actually brings to the mind's eye something that has never before been seen. It's not just the marriage ceremony linking two things; it's the child born from the union.

Memory is an act of meaning-making. It collects the disparate pieces of our lives and distills them.