“It is all about numbers. It is all about sequence. It’s the mathematical logic of being alive.”

That’s the thing with handmade items. They still have the person’s mark on them, and when you hold them, you feel less alone.

The most so far, because she found the saddest thing of all to be the simple truth of her capacity to move on.

We hit the sidewalk, and dropped hands. How I wished, right then, that the whole world was a street.

Not getting bored of my own story and/or character is one of the main struggles.

I didn’t mind the quiet stretches. It was like we were trying out the idea of being side by side.

It’s such a fraught and exciting and kind of horrible time.

Listen. Look. Desire is a house. Desire needs closed space. Desire runs out of doors or windows, or slats or pinpricks, it can’t fit under the sky, too large. Close the doors. Close the windows.

When language is treated beautifully and interestingly, it can feel good for the body: It’s nourishing; it’s rejuvenating.

You try, you seem totally nuts, you go underground.

When the light at Vernon turned green, we stepped into the street and George grabbed my hand and the ghosts of our younger selves crossed with us.

I have had with novel writing, and I have put to bed big chunks of work that just didn’t sustain my interest.

I was with them for all of it, but more like an echo than a participant.

and I get refill number three or four and the wine is making my bones loose and it’s giving my hair a red sheen and my breasts are blooming and my eyes feel sultry and wise and the dress is water.

As soon as you laugh from nerves or make a joke or say something just to say something or get all involved with the bushes, then you blow open a window in your house of desire and it can’t heat up as well. Cold draft comes in.

There’s a gift in your lap and it’s beautifully wrapped and it’s not your birthday.

Sometimes, she said, mostly to herself, I feel I do not know my children…

If you would bring the magic out of your mind – the magic which will transform everything – you must believe.

I believe Irving Berlin was there, and uh, and everything just centered around there.

Why bother with Google when I have a wife who knows everything about everything!

You see, they love America like a 4-year-old loves his mommy. Liberals love America like grown-ups. To a 4-year-old, everything Mommy does is wonderful and anyone who criticizes Mommy is bad.

The label’s going great, because we’re not idiots. We’re not trying to sue everyone that downloads everything.

Without intermediate artists, music is what “American Idol” decides is great or made by the very poor, because Sharon Osbourne’s made everything free.

Al and Tommy and I sharing the biggest laugh because it was predicted by everything we did in the first three or four records in my career.

We’ve just kept the ship running y’know what I mean? You change engineers from time to time and as long as everybody coming aboard knows what direction the ship is, everything’s alright.