Fiction Is Always Really A Labor.

Even Though I Didn't Know I Was Applying For The Job, I Have Somehow Become The Spokesperson For Independent Book Stores.

Time Is The Most Extraordinary Gift For Friendship. You'll Get To Eat Your Meals Together And Study Together; In Some Cases You'll Even Sleep In The Same Room. You'll Have Time To Waste On Each Other. You'll Find Out Every Single Thing You Have In Common And Still Have Time To Catalogue All Of Your Differences. Don't Underestimate The Vital Necessity Of Friendship In Your Life Because It Is The Thing That Will Sustain You Later, When There Will Be Considerably Less Time.

Reading Fiction Not Only Develops Our Imagination And Creativity, It Gives Us The Skills To Be Alone. It Gives Us The Ability To Feel Empathy For People We've Never Met, Living Lives We Couldn't Possibly Experience For Ourselves, Because The Book Puts Us Inside The Character's Skin.

I Have Been Accused Of Being A Pollyanna, But I Think There Are Plenty Of People Dealing With The Darker Side Of Human Nature, And If I Am Going To Write About People Who Are Kind And Generous And Loving And Thoughtful, So What? In My Life I Have Met Astonishingly Good People.

I Read Books I Hate All The Time, And I Don't Mention Them Or Talk About Them.