“Clothing left on the bed unfolded. Books stained with coffee spots. Tabs not paid until the last possible second. Boys kissed and then forgotten in a week’s time.”

“There are no girl books. There are no boy books. There are just books.”

“She smiled as sweetly as a show poster for the glorified, all-American Ziegfeld girl just before dumping her second cigarette into Wally’s fresh cup of coffee.”

“I am hard at work on the second draft ... Second draft is really a misnomer as there are a gazillion revisions, large and small, that go into the writing of a book.”

“I don't think you should die until you're ready. Until you've wrung out every last bit of living you can.”

“A guy's gotta live, you know, gotta make his way and find his meaning in life and love, and to do that he needs coffee, he needs coffee and coffee and coffee.”

“It is funny how you do not miss affection until it is given, but once it is, it can never be enough; you would drown in it if possible.”