I am growing meaner by the hour.

For me, there is nothing worse than the knowledge that my life holds nothing for me but being a writer.

From time to time, I need a rest from the exercitation of my intellect.

A small silence came between us, as precise as a picture hanging on the wall.

You say that you hope I will be recognized as the best novelist of my generation. I want you to know now and know completely that that would mean to me absolutely nothing.

I am growing meaner by the hour.

For all practical purposes I left home when I was 7.

He does what I have always needed to have done to me, and that is that he dominates me.

Irony, I feel, is a very high form of morality.

Read a lot. Read broadly... Tell stories to your friends, and pay attention to when they get bored... Write a lot.

In matters of commerce the fault of the Dutch Is offering too little and asking too much. The French are with equal advantage content, So we clap on Dutch bottoms just twenty per cent.

Every city is either vibrant these days or is working on a plan to attain vibrancy soon. The reason is simple: a city isn't successful - isn't even a city, really - unless it can lay claim to being 'vibrant.'

Bowie is probably my favorite all-around songwriter and performer and personality. His ability to change over the years is such an inspiration. I love 'Young Americans' and 'Fame.'

If China stood on an equal basis with other nations, she could compete freely with them in the economic field and be able to hold her own without failure. But as soon as foreign nations use political power as a shield for their economic designs, then China is at a loss how to resist or to compete successfully with them.

It baffles me that everything is so homogenized, because the world isn't, and yet we continue to support things that are so incredibly milquetoast.

Cable penetrates 70 percent of American audiences now.

Every major food company now has an organic division. There's more capital going into organic agriculture than ever before.

If I had to write long-form stuff with descriptions of rooms, it would be so boring for me. I like writing dialogue and jokes and situational stuff.

Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness.

Death be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so. For, those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow. Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

Leadership means forming a team and working toward common objectives that are tied to time, metrics, and resources.

Here's a bit of Discovery Channel for you - apples don't last forever. They can stay fresh for a long time, especially when refrigerated, but definitely not from December into the month of March.

I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment.

Fame is a funny thing. I like doing normal things. I like going to fairs. I like going to ball games. I like going to Disney World or a big field on the Fourth of July and having picnics with friends. The problem is you're either worried you're going to be recognized, or you're thankful you're not. It's always there.

Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals "love" them. But those who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more.

Basically, I use hammer-ons and pull-offs.

What house, bloated with luxury, ever became prosperous without a woman's excellence?

Charles Darwin sailed around the world for two years on the 'Beagle,' and he had quite a bit of interest in things like the iguanas of the Galapagos, even though they were primitive compared to your average Englishman.

The more Zuckerberg knows about you, the more media he will be able to bring you.

Aphorisms are bad for novels. They stick in the reader's teeth.

Tension is wonderful for making people laugh.

Up until I started on YouTube, my first love was musical theater.

As the 20th century unspooled, a cultural warming melted down many frozen class characteristics.