What good is an obscenity trial except to popularize literature?

[A] pessimist gets nothing but pleasant surprises, an optimist nothing but unpleasant.

As a professional writer of detective stories, I string along with the ballplayers. I love a ball game.

The constant petty behests of life permit few opportunities for major satisfactions, and when one is offered it should be seized.

I don't approve of open fires. You can't think, or talk or even make love in front of a fireplace. All you can do is stare at it.

Subtlety chases the obvious up a never-ending spiral and never quite catches it.

The only two kinds of books could earn an American writer a living are cookbooks and detective novels.