You cannot observe people through an ideology. Your ideology observes for you.

Literature takes a habit of mind that has disappeared. It requires silence, some form of isolation, and sustained concentration in the presence of an enigmatic thing.

Everyone becomes a part of history whether they like it or not and whether they know it or not.

The secret to living in the rush of the world with a minimum of pain is to get as many people as possible to string along with your delusions.

People are unjust to anger - it can be enlivening and a lot of fun.

Because that is when you love somebody - when you see them being game in the face of the worst. Not courageous. Not heroic. Just game.

It’s amazing what lies people can sustain behind the mask of their real faces.

It's best to give while your hand is still warm.

Sheer Playfulness and Deadly Seriousness are my closest friends.

Life is just a short period of time in which you are alive.

The pleasure isn't in owning the person. The pleasure is this. Having another contender in the room with you.

There's something every woman wants, and that's a man to blame.

When the whole world doesn't believe in God, it'll be a great place.

How easy life is when it's easy, and how hard when it's hard.

Stop worrying about growing old. And think about growing up.

Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.

The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.

Memories of the past are not memories of facts but memories of your imaginings of the facts.

Old age isn't a battle; old age is a massacre.