“When Toni Morrison said 'write the book you want to read,' she didn't mean everybody.”

“It's much easier to write a solemn book than a funny book. It's harder to make people laugh than it is to make them cry. People are always on the verge of tears.”

“To lose yourself in a book is the desire of the bookworm. I mean to be taken. That is my desire.”

“To me, nothing can be more important than giving children books, It's better to be giving books to children than drug treatment to them when they're 15 years old. Did it ever occur to anyone that if you put nice libraries in public schools you wouldn't have to put them in prisons?”

“Very few people possess true artistic ability. It is therefore both unseemly and unproductive to irritate the situation by making an effort. If you have a burning, restless urge to write or paint, simply eat something sweet and the feeling will pass. Your life story would not make a good book. Do not even try.”

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.”

“I write so slowly, I could write with my own blood and not hurt myself.”