I think a lot of people who read fiction are interested in subtlety. But they wouldn't like my stuff. It's a bit too violent for many tastes.

Only in art will the lion lie down with the lamb, and the rose grow without thorn.

Religious belief is without reason and without dignity, and its record is near-universally dreadful.

Probably human cruelty is fixed and eternal. Only styles change.

My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.

When the past is forgotten, the present is unforgettable

Closure is a greasy little word which, moreover, describes a nonexistent condition. The truth, Venus, is that nobody gets over anything.

Perhaps there are other bits of my life that would take on content, take on shadow, if only I read more and thought less about money.

When you’ve lost all your play, guess what love becomes. Work. Work that gets harder every hour.

Love is blind; but it makes you see the blind man; teetering on the roadside . . .

Every 10 years you're a different person, and the really great books evolve with you as you get older. They're full of new rewards.

Being in the present moment, one can step outside the mechanical train of life, and this is where the inner revolution begins.

You might be an introvert if you were ready to go home before you left the house.

I was raised vegan. My mom would always make quinoa with squash and kale, hippie stuff like that. Now I eat meat, but I try to be conscious about where it's coming from.

Trouble in the air is very rare. It is hitting the ground that causes it.

Every clarification breeds new questions.

To lose one's health renders science null, are inglorious, strength unavailing, wealth useless, and eloquence powerless.

Whatever you fill your brain with and whoever you spend your time with... will determine your life a decade from now.

The least a person can ask out of life is to be needed by someone.

To affirm is to make firm.

I would just say Hillary [Clinton] did win the popular vote.