Books light the fire-whether it's a book that's already written, or an empty journal that needs to be filled in.

Being a teacher at a restaurant in the town where you lived was a little like being a TV star.

While it's true that some writers, when taking on love and war, find the task too big, or only succeed in one but not the other, Mengestu tracks both themes with authority and feeling.

Good writing is good writing, and I'm so happy when I read it.

You had only one chance for a signature in life, but most people left no impression.

The child who was happy with herself meant the parents had won the jackpot.

For me, a novel relying too heavily on a single idea might be a dry, deadly thing unless it possesses an animating force.

People like to warn you that by the time you reach the middle of your life, passion will begin to feel like a meal eaten long ago, which you remember with great tenderness.

After a certain age, you felt a need not to be alone. It grew stronger, like a radio frequency, until finally it was so powerful that you were forced to do something about it.

Wasn't the whole point of being an artist, or at least part of it, that you didn't have to wear a tie?

The generation that had information, but no context. Butter, but no bread. Craving, but no longing.

My thoughts are like butterflies. They are beautiful, but they fly away.

Examine your heart and put away any distraction so you can worship God freely.

...theology waits as it works. It waits for its lungs again to be filled. Without the renewing breath of the Spirit it cannot speak.

One man's constant is another man's variable.

The FCC has delayed the decision on the Time/Warner Comcast merger. So how do you think those folks like being put on hold?

Nothing changes until it becomes what it is.

One good reason to only maintain a small circle of friends is that three out of four murders are committed by people who know the victim.

Either well succeed, or we wont succeed. And the definition of success as I described is sectarian violence down. Success is not no violence.

The trouble with Senator Long is that he is suffering from halitosis of the intellect.That's presuming Senator Long has an intellect.

Being "in love" shouldn't cause stress; it should relieve it.