A schedule broken at will becomes a mere procession of vagaries.

Only fools and philosophers waste time on the unknowable.

If I'm home with no chore at hand, and a package of books has come, the television set and the chess board and the unanswered mail will have to manage without me if one of the books is a detective story.

The requisitions of the income tax have added greatly to the attractions of mercenary crime.

Everyone has something they don't want anyone to see; that is one of the functions of a home, to provide a spot to keep such things.

I still can't decide which is more fun - reading or writing.

I think the detective story is by far the best upholder of the democratic doctrine in literature. I mean, there couldn't have been detective stories until there were democracies, because the very foundation of the detective story is the thesis that if you're guilty you'll get it in the neck and if you're innocent you can't possibly be harmed. No matter who you are.