If life's lessons could be reduced to single sentences, ther would be no need for fiction.

Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to carry on with dignity in spite of it.

Widespread public access to knowledge, like public education, is one of the pillars of our democracy, a guarantee that we can maintain a well-informed citizenry.

People are offering competing visions of what happened in the past. And the justice system is willing to accept either of those competing visions and to impose consequences as a result. When you think of it that way, it's a little bit startling, because we want to believe that there is one truth and, therefore, one justice, whereas, if you have practiced law as long as I have, you realize that there is actually a range of acceptable outcomes.

The one thing I would like more credit for is being part of a movement which involves recognising the importance of plot and asserting that books of literary worth could be written that had plots.

Basbanes makes you love books.

I am a law student in my first year at the law, and there are many moments when I am simply a mess.