Reason leavened with a little wit (if possible) is the real alternative to hate speech, meaning that there's no better time for it.

I feel like my head is finally the right size. I feel like it finally fits around my mind.

Some strangers become more important to you than family, maybe because you're not expected to love them. You can leave them whenever you want to. They can, too. Every moment together is a choice.

At the beginning of a novel, a writer needs confidence, but after that what's required is persistence. These traits sound similar. They aren't. Confidence is what politicians, seducers and currency speculators have, but persistence is a quality found in termites. It's the blind drive to keep on working that persists after confidence breaks down.

The most beautiful faces have some ugly in them.

When Loughner himself speaks and we find out his real influences are Spiderman, 'Gnome Chomsky,' Taylor Swift, and Dr. Bronner, then what?

I preferred that my bad dreams be vague.