If there is an abiding theme in 'The Pursuit of Happiness,' it is the idea that you come into the world already shaped by other people's past histories.

The only time you truly become an adult is when you finally forgive your parents for being just as flawed as everyone else.

Because there is no meaning to be found in the arbitrary nature of things., It's all random. Just as space is blue. And birds fly through it.

There is much to be said for solitude.

Tragedy is one of the larger prices we pay for being alive. No one ever sidesteps tragedy. It is always there, shadowing us.

We all talk about how much we hate lies. Yet we prefer, so often, to be lied to....because it allows us to dodge all those painful truths we'd rather not hear.

Success is a very fragile veneer. I get wary of people who embrace celebrity. It ruins people.

Words matter, words have import.

I want to be a popular novelist who's also serious, or a serious novelist who's also very accessible.

All our stories are simultaneously unique and desperately similar, aren't they?

I've been known to write on the Underground in London and on the subway in New York. I have two or three cafes in Paris that I go into. I find a corner with a little shade, and I can work.

If you think you have it tough, read history books.

Don't try to prove anything about yourself to anyone. It isn't necessary. Your worth shines through to others- know your worth.

Sounds like the blues are composed of feeling, finesse, and fear.

The ability to ask questions is the greatest resource in learning the truth.

Few sights in science are sadder than astronomers standing in the rain.

I tend not to listen. When I'm listening to records, I don't listen to much new wave stuff, I tend to listen to the stuff I used to listen to a few years back but sort of odd singles.

Most people will look back and realize they did not have a great life because it's just so easy to settle for a good life.

Khadi to me is the symbol of unity of Indian humanity, of its economic freedom and equality and, therefore, ultimately, in the poetic expression of Jawaharlal Nehru, 'the livery of India's freedom'.

If you don't read for pleasure, you'll lose your edge as a writer.

I think good teachers are underpaid.