I could write an entertaining novel about rejection slips, but I fear it would be overly long.

The young women in my classes are feisty and clever and believe, often with the passion of youthful optimism, that feminism is a battle already won. I worry for them - and for my daughters, too.

I'm working on a nonfiction book on Nepal and a novel about diasporas.

The richest most meaningful stories are found in small places: made, carried, crafted, told, and retold by apparently unimportant people.

Sometimes I like to play the soundtracks to famous musicals so we can all sing along. South Pacific is one of my favorites. Our neighbors must hate us.

If you can't return a favor, pass it on.

Never give up. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Write from your heart, in your own voice, and about what you believe in.

I can't pick out one single book that had such a profound personal impact.

It took a brave editor in the U.S. to sign a contract for Dancing Girls, and without her belief in the book, I'm not sure it would ever have found its way into print.

Don't call 'em dogs. Dogs are loyal and they run after balls.

I thought it was something peculiar to me. I thought I was abnormal.

I love the MLB app, because I'm a pretty obsessed baseball fan.

To succeed, we have to be the party of change, we have to root out corruption in our own ranks and we have to be the party of solutions.

Periodically over the years I've always taken periods of time away from acting.

To me the purpose of life is to enjoy it! It's to enjoy the gift, and to make sure that other people have an opportunity to enjoy the gift.

The war was a mirror; it reflected man's every virtue and every vice, and if you looked closely, like an artist at his drawings, it showed up both with unusual clarity.

The end of reading is not more books but more life.

The tendency of humanity is towards the forbidden.

You'll know if he loves you by how long he's willing to fight.

Whatever matters to human beings, trust is the atmosphere in which it thrives.

I'm very careful about how I portray violence in my films. I do believe that violence, especially violent video games, are not a good thing for young kids.