I love doing readings. I could really give a crap about reviews. It's kind of about the readers.

What's the point of having a book club if you don't get to eat brownies and drink wine?

In the wintertime I like macaroni and cheese.

An ellipsis is a giant ocean of possibilities.

I find that short stories are almost like palate cleansers, or brain cleansers.

You can quit smoking, and never have to have a cigarette again to survive. But with food, it is a daily challenge.

I remember being banned from other houses as a younger child during the winter holiday season; I was the only one who didn't believe in Santa Claus, and I was ruining everyone's Christmas.

I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to, even, but it could still feel big.

In 1998, I started a blog, something I could control very easily and update at my own whim.

I'm not that much of a researcher. I'm good at channeling characters, and I'm good at structure.

Smart, sharp, and hilarious, Slaughterhouse 90210 is the perfect pick-me-up and never-put-me-down book.

Nothing and nobody is obliged to save you but you.

If you have strength, why won’t you work?

I just planted the family vegetables yesterday. You name it, I grow it.

By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more.

I don't like fights. I don't like aggressive people.

I'm of the school of thought where, if you can't sort something out for yourself, no one can help you. Rehab is great for some people but not others.

I don't want to leave Manhattan, even when I'm gone.

I always tell people, it took me 10 minutes and 35 years in the business. I get tired of playing it ["Lullaby of Birdland"], but not of collecting the royalties.

There is a mortal breed most full of futility. In contempt of what is at hand, they strain into the future, hunting impossibilities on the wings of ineffectual hopes.

Seriously, I would go in a second. I'd be the first actor in space and I'd love to do it.