If pride is a sin ... moral pride is the greatest sin. - John Irving

It's a no-win argument - that business of what we're born with and what our environment does to us. And it's a boring argument, because it simplifies the mysteries that attend both our birth and our growth.

You can learn a lot from your lovers, but-for the most part-you get to keep your friends longer, and you learn more from them.

There’s nothing I need or want to know from the writers I admire that isn’t in their books. It’s better to read a good writer than meet one.