“The top 10% of the people who are most creative, constructive and thoughtful, do not have much to do with churches. To them the canons of reason come first, making faith secondary and questionable.”

“A man is granted one question when god appears before him. How much do I have," the man asked, "before I die?" Enough time," God answers "to make a difference.”

“She had no taste for the psychological, and nothing but scorn for the erotic. What she loved was a story which began with crime and ended with a detection - a story which kept you wondering who did it, how it was done, and when the doing was going to be laid bare to the light of day. ~ The Middle of Things ”

“Sometimes we have so much to say, we cannot say it. Sometimes it's best we do not say goodbyes.”

“Tell me: How do you know that you won't be killed by a falling meteor? How do you know that you shut off the toaster oven this morning? That one of the seething millions of bacteria on your hands will not kill you? That your friends don't all secretly hate you? Do you have a religion? Do you have right religion? Are you sure? Are you a pedophile, a necrophiliac, a rapist? A murderer? How can you know that these tendencies do not dwell latent inside you, waiting for the right moment to evince themselves in the most horrific manner possible? How do you know that you are not a monster? How do you know that it isn't the end of the world?”

“We have our stories, and we speak of them, and weave them into other people's stories - that's how it goes, does it not?”

“What happens with this being will mean the end of my life, this much is clear, so why does excitement bubble my blood and make my heart roll over in my chest. Life? For him, I will risk it all if he takes me. What is my alternative? To sit and wait for a fairytale Prince charming who will never come?”