I grew up north of Chicago, not far from where the Schwinn bicycle plant used to be, and was conscious of the fact that these beautiful, everlasting bikes were made just down the road.

We are unusual and tragic and alive.

I met a lot of great people in Saudi Arabia and I'd like to see them again. And I'd love to spend more time in the desert and in the mountains. I felt really at home there.

Dignity is an affectation, cute but eccentric, like learning French or collecting scarves.

We must do extraordinary things. We have to. It would be absurd not to.

Books have a unique way of stopping time in a particular moment and saying: Let’s not forget this.

Better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb than in the middle of some ladder you don’t, right?

Here I am Rock You Like a Hurricane.

Again the greatest use of a human was to be useful. Not to consume, not to watch, but to do something for someone else that improved their life, even for a few minutes.

But everyone disappears, no matter who loves them.

Pain comes at me and I take it, chew it for a few minutes, and spit it back out. It's just not my thing anymore.

The universe is talking. All we have to do is stop and listen.

We are not educated well enough to perform the necessary act of intelligently selecting our leaders.

I don't think about relatability (when writing), I think about the heart of the character.

Assa is just much tougher and much smarter than Hillary Clinton and Obama.

Often really what you need is someone who will believe in you, who will encourage you to believe in yourself.

Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to discriminate against any kind of love?

Dolphins are social mammals, capable of enjoying their lives. They form close bonds with other members of their group.

I look thuggish when I shave my head and wear big boots. I walk into a newsagent and people think I'm going to jump the counter.

What I've found is that there is a tremendous interest in these issues, across the political spectrum, sort of left-right terms we used to describe people don't really hold here exactly.

Face the giants in your life, slay them, and move on. Do not be daunted by the mistakes and failures in your life.