It just took some people a little longer than others to realize how few words they needed to get by, how much of life they could negotiate in silence.

When things don't go well, it helps to think of yourself as a genius and the rest of the world as a bunch of idiots.

I no longer believe that just about everything is funny, if viewed from the proper angle.

I think I'm fascinated by the power of religion in our culture. Like a lot of secular, liberal people, I ignored it for a long time. Lately, of course, just from a political perspective, it's impossible to ignore.

I did a lot of reading of the Bible and became fascinated with the idea of the Rapture. It's pretty wild. I hadn't heard of it until I was in college.

He made me think of all the books I hadn't read, and all the ones I'd read but hadn't fully understood.

I used to describe myself as a comic novelist, but my concerns seem to have darkened over the past few years.