This world can only give me reminders of what I don't have, can never have, didn't have for long enough.

There's something ugly about the flawless.

Narrative becomes the way you make sense of chaos. That's how you focus the world. It's the only reason you should ever try this writing job.

In Greek tragedy, they fall from great heights. In noir, they fall from the curb.

Happiness comes in moments, & then it's gone until the next time. Could be years. But sadness settles it.

It's hard to close the door on optimistic expectations when you love someone.

There are so many more important things to worry about than how you're perceived by strangers.

The foundation of your life is luck. Hard work and talent make up the difference.

There are threads in our lives. You pull one, and everything else gets affected.

Chuck said, “Hey. How many surrealists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” Cawley looked over at him. “I’ll bite. How many?” “Fish,” Chuck said and let loose a bright bark of a laugh.

What molds us is what maims us.

You scoundrel, you have wronged me, " hissed the philosopher, "May you live forever!

The Mississippi and its paddle boats, and the rivers of Bengal and their gleaming steamers evoked a similar atmosphere of romance, of long, song-filled voyages, high winds and lonely sunsets.

I don’t write poetry when I wish, I write when I can’t, when my larynx is flooded and my throat is shut.

When my father died, it sounds kind of simple but I just had the desire to step up and pastor the church. It was what I was supposed to do. I just took that step of faith.

Love of another is merely empty flattery and self-deception for one who cannot accept himself without pretense.

I'm not a big filmophile. I don't watch movies a lot for a hobby. I spend all my time watching sporting events. Because, opposed to movies, you can never tell how they're going to end.

A publisher is simply a useful middle-man.

A man is a man, on a throne or in a pigsty.

At some point around '94 or '95, 'Rolling Stone' said that guitar rock was dead and that the Chemical Brothers were the future. I think that was the last issue of 'Rolling Stone' I ever bought.

Long as there's a sun that sets, Primroses will have their glory; Long as there are violets, They will have a place in story: There's a flower that shall be mine, 'Tis the little Celandine.