Everybody has to feel superior to somebody," she said. "But it's customary to present a little proof before you take the privilege.

At one time I used to keep notebooks with outlines for stories. But I found doing this somehow deadened the idea in my imagination. If the notion is good enough, if it truly belongs to you, then you can't forget it-it will haunt you till it's written.

Are the dead as lonesome as the living?

A man who doesn't dream is like a man who doesn't sweat. He stores up a lot of poison.

I despise people who can't control themselves.

He loved her, he loved her, and until he'd loved her she had never minded being alone.

I live in Brooklyn. By choice. Those ignorant of its allures are entitled to wonder why.