"True ability is undisturbed by pretentious criticism."

"Much of what I learned about forgiveness I learned by inhabiting the lives of my characters. Even villains act with reasonable intent. Mercy is easier with understanding. Still, it helps that on paper I can kill them off."

"Don't stay in the harbour and miss the greatness of the sea. Just because everyone else is anchored, doesn't mean you have to be."

"Before you reach the point of forgiveness, you go through the phase where you pray... for every possible misfortune and ill luck to strike them dead while you sit and watch."

"For a storyteller, an open ending leaves much room for imagination; for the inquisitive reader, however, it is a source of great anxiety."

"Books. It's always easier to tell people that a character is funny rather than attempt to hit the punchline of a joke that character would've said. But if we all simply told, books would cease to exist. And so would empathy. And feeling."

"When a bookworm finally decides to leave the house, perhaps to explore some literary destination in one of her novels, she will be surprised to know that there is a volatile, often antagonistic force in the real world known as the weather."

"Don't be afraid to make mistakes. But if you do, make new ones. Life is too short to make the wrong choice twice."

"It's a singular sort of pain, watching the most beautiful creature self-destruct because you weren't able to find the red wire."

"When people say they're unemployed, bored, or have nothing to do, I sigh and think, "If only time were transferable."

"Solitary walks are great for getting new ideas. It's like you're in a video game and you pick up idea coins on the way."

"Life is a curriculum unique to every student."

"Not everything that happens in your life has to hit you like a hurricane."

"There is more to hear in what is not said."

"You won't stress over it unless you care."

"I often buy print books only after I've read them in some digital form or other. It's my odd way of keeping the physical presence of the best among multitudes. And I only have one shelf."

"For in that perfect garden when one day entered sin,An animal was murdered for garments made of skin.When figs of human effort produced religious strife,The Father tailored clothing for Adam and his wife."

"Dear World,I exist.Deal with it."

"Those who are acquainted with failure acquire the unique ability to dare without fear of it."

"Always make an effort to be around people who will help you grow."

"Sometimes exhaustion is not a result of too much time spent on something, but of knowing that in its place, no time is spent on something else."

"Ambition is a stairway that never ends."

"If you think about life simply as one big waiting room for eternity, who cares if it's not fully air conditioned?"

"If people keep stepping on you, wear a pointy hat."

"There's something very enticing about an empty bench under a tree. And if it's facing a river, that's the bench for me."

"Frustration often steers you to the right path."

"A shout for help isn't always a cry of pain, sometimes it is a hymn of praise."

"There will always be one or two things bothering the person next to you. And if that person happens to be looking heavenward, it's because it helps us to remind ourselves that God is bigger than our problems."

"But men are bound to saySome things that, though untrue,Will get you down the aisleUntil you say "I do."

"Some scars don't hurt. Some scars are numb. Some scars rid you of the capacity to feel anything ever again."

"If I don't talk about it, it's either very displeasing or very precious to me."

"Sometimes the gap between what you are and what you want to be is a little piece of paper called your college degree. So jump."

"You will do well not to write for money, not because you won't get rich doing it, but because writing fueled by that sort of motivation becomes dull and lifeless and mediocre."

"Dementia: Is it more painful to forget, or to be forgotten?"

"How might it feel to be fully present in every moment all of the time?"

"Not all friends know they have lost you."

"I'm not an insomniac. It's just that my mind is in the best position to catch the weight of all hovering possibilities the moment I lie down."

"If difficult times teach us the most important lessons, we should then learn to read difficult books."

"We are semipermeable membranes. We can pick and choose which troubles are worthy of our attention. What sinks us can only do so with our permission, a boat stays afloat until the water gets in."

"The more time you have to do things, the less you are able to get done."

"Silence isn't always agreement. Sometimes people no longer argue because they no longer care."

"The sad thing about reading the book and then watching the movie is that they have to die all over again."

"Maybe forgiveness means you stop keeping tabs on those people. Wounds can't heal if you keep touching them."

"You don't have to live happily ever after with every single person in your life in order to live happily ever after. Some unfortunate endings are necessary."

"You can only take too much in pursuit of something you don't really want."

"Some things sound better if they don't come from you."

"I think the worst sort of time travel is how the clock speeds up when I'm on my break."

"If we can't have world peace, I'll settle for a quiet room."

"May any praise of your character come from others instead of yourself."

"She didn't realize she was in a prison until she collided with the bars."