I like these nonfiction books where everything that is interesting about them is lost in that catch-all description of their "about"-ness.

Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into desire.

The ideal is to feel at home anywhere, everywhere.

One's happiness is very largely a question of state of mind rather than the world you are looking at.

Nine times out of 10, the most charming thing to say in any given situation will be the exact opposite of what one really feels.

To be interested in something is to be involved in what is essentially a stressful relationship with that thing, to suffer anxiety on its behalf.

All the best essays are epistemological journeys from ignorance or curiosity to knowledge.

Life is bearable even when it's unbearable: that is what's so terrible, that is the unbearable thing about it.

Quite often, ambition operates on a level of irritation. Not even jealousy, just irritation.

When you are lonely, writing can keep you company. It is also a form of self-compensation, a way of making up for things—as opposed to making things up—that did not quite happen.

If you help them (the crew) create good memories, they'll forget all the bad stuff

The rich fop Francis of Assisi was bored all his life―until he fell in love with Christ and gave all his stuff away and became the troubadour of Lady Poverty.

I do not believe in any religion, I will have nothing to do with immortality. We are miserable enough in this life without speculating upon another.

He felt his heart was going to explode, his body burned while his mind tried to reconstitute the ashes of who he once had been.

Life’s best coaches are those who believe in you and your potential, sometimes even before you do.

If you know what you're looking for, that's all you'll get - what's previously known. But when you're open to what's possible, you get something new - that's creativity.

One good act of vengeance deserves another.

To say that secular means irreligious implies that all the arts and sciences are irreligious, and is very like saying that all professions except that of the law are illegal.

To love life is to love God. Harder and more blessed than all else is to love this life in one's sufferings, in undeserved sufferings.

Mere enthusiasm is the all in all... / Passion and expression are beauty itself.