"A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face …"

"I don't believe in happy endings. I believe in happy middles."

"A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom."

"I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn't be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful."

"I'm not a very good listener."