“Fame kills brain cells”

“I tried his cell over and over but he never answered. Then I’d call just to hear his voice on the outgoing message, until eventually that was gone too.”

“But my subconscious mind--the part I've heard writers call the lizard brain--could and did: it told me to reach for Anne Lamott or Edith Wharton or Calvin Trillin instead. And if I've learned one thing in my decades on earth, it's this: Don't argue with your lizard brain; it knows you better than you know yourself.”

“...if I've learned one thing in my decades on earth, it's this: Don't argue with your lizard brain; it knows you better than you know yourself.”

“After a geological epoch passed in which single-celled organisms evolved into talk show hosts, Mr. Coffee was still holding out on me.”

“Never be afraid to learn from the ether...That's where knowledge lives before someone hunts it, kills it, and mounts it in a book.”

“He didn't understand these people. They rushed about blindly, with never a moment to spare. Their cell phones rang, they had to check their e-mail, they had to network. Ridiculous words Amy had taught him. She said that they were frightened, that if they stopped rushing, they might have to think. And if they had to think, then they might realize how empty and pointless their lives were.”