I'm one of the world's greatest pencil sharpeners.

Never demean yourself by talking back to a critic, never. Write those letters to the editor in your head, but don't put them on paper.

I was terribly sure trees and flowers were the same as birds or people. That they thought things and talked among themselves. And we could hear them if we really tried. It was just a matter of emptying your head of all other sounds. Being very quiet and listening very hard. Sometimes I still believe that. But one can never get quiet enough.

But mostly they were lies I told; it wasn't my fault, I couldn't remember, because it was as though I'd been to one of those supernatural castles visited by characters in legends: once away, you do not remember, all that is left is the ghostly echo of haunting wonder.

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

Really being friends is the most important part, I think, of any relationship.

Those fellows, they're always crying over killers. Never a thought for the victims.