I was raised in Harlem. I never found a book that took place

in Harlem. I never had a church like mine in a book. I never had people like the people I knew. People who could not find their lives in books and celebrated felt bad about themselves. I needed to write to include the lives of these young people.
Walter Dean Myers

He described how, as a boy of 14, his dad had been down the mining pit, his uncle had been down the pit, his brother had been down the pit, and of course he would go down the pit.
Barbara Castle

There are readers who want every point to be clearly and unambiguously set forth, and there are those who want to pry ideas and meanings out for themselves.
John M. Ford

Scarlett Johansson. I think people don't really realize how great of an actress that girl is. She's so beautiful and that distracts you from what she can do as an actor.
Demian Bichir

The only way to fight a thing like 50 is to stay au courant if it kills you.
Herb Caen

The qualities I most admire in women are confidence and kindness.
Oscar de la Renta

I always thought I was going to die before I was 60.
Drew Carey

I love being Italian.
Connie Stevens

I'm just some lunatic macaroni mushroom, is that it?
Joe Pesci

Gemeoss

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve

the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I only make movies that are interesting to me. Brian Grazer I wouldn't say I was organised at all. I just have to prioritise. Is it more important for them to be organised, or to have their dinner, do you know what I mean? Jo Brand The courage in journalism is sticking up for the unpopular, not the popular. Geraldo Rivera A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. Bertrand Russell I think Mick Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realized that to many people he is not a sex symbol, but a mother image. David Bowie I enjoy my job as long as I can create a character, otherwise it's boring. Jav...

All I've been a part of has been thanks to the Disney company: the job,

experience, travel, opportunities have come thanks to Disney. Working for Disney was not part of my original plan, but it was part of God's, and it shows that God is still moving. Jodi Benson It almost goes without saying that when you are a startup, one of the first things you do is you start setting aside money to defend yourself from patent lawsuits, because any successful company, even moderately successful, is going to get hit by a patent lawsuit from someone who's just trying to look for a payout. Charles Duhigg People always ask me about 'Girls' with this kind of hesitation. What do I think of it? I love it. It's awesome. I get a lot of Where do you come down on this? I come down on the side of 'Yay, Lena Dunham. Congratulations. I'm jealous.' She's doing something so fantastic. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it certainly is for me. Callie Khouri I've never really understood the term 'Post-Impressionism' as more tha...

It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose

sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical person fears - the fall into knowledge exhaustion, obsolescence, techno-fuddy-duddyism - there was no reason to think I could escape it forever. Ellen Ullman Innovation and its allure can be dangerous. It can draw you away from the user, from the intended outcome, and may be the ultimate demise of otherwise great intentions. Mark Brand My voice is different, but I don't think I'm the only one with a different take on pop music. Charli XCX In South Africa, we drive on the left-hand side, and most of the cars are standard, so I learned with a full-gear transmission with a clutch and hill starts. I've never driven an automatic until I came to Canada. Jodi Balfour Mexico has 44 treaties with other countries that make it very advantageous to do international shipping from Mexico rather than from the United States. Wilbur Ross Winning HOYS set me up for the future and prepared me for riding in front of lots of ...

Given Pounds and five years, and an ordinary man can in the ordinary course, without

any undue haste or putting any pressure upon his taste, surround himself with books, all in his own language, and thence forward have at least one place in the world. Augustine Birrell Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud, and that the major cancer research organizations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them. Linus Pauling A Bush Administration will, I believe, enjoy a better relationship with the new Congress, although President-elect Bush will be faced with real challenges in getting along with the Congress. Richard V. Allen I once thought that I was the only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man, but since they have come and cleaned out our lodges, horses, and everything else, it is hard for to believe the white man any more. Black Kettle When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful lot of clicking shut! Kenneth Koch I thin...

As a Midlander and a big walker, I'd always loved ridge and furrow

fields, the plough-marked land as it was when it was enclosed. It is the landscape giving you a story of lives that ended with the arrival of sheep. Jim Crace I think it's really rare to see women on television who are brilliant, selfish, vain, fallible - and I feel like I have all those capacities in myself, so it's good to see people in the media representing all of those things. Kerry Bishe I never went after fame. It fell into my lap. Caitlyn Jenner My mom and dad were actors when they were younger and had a horrible experience of it. My dad became a literary agent and my mom a casting director. Daniel Radcliffe I have this idea of trying to catalog all the genes on the planet. Craig Venter The wind from the Kingdom of Heaven has blown all over the world, and shall blow for centuries yet. George William Russell I always said if I played a drag queen, I'd want to create a template with the realness they talk about in 'Paris Is Burning.' Billy P...

We've got fifty people at Gitmo that are too dangerous to be let go that

will never go through a normal criminal trial. Let's create a new legal system, so they'll have their day in court. Lindsey Graham I am a living illustration of Bosnian mixing and converting. My grandparents lived in eastern Herzegovina. Very poor. The Turks came and brought Islam. There were three brothers in the family. One was Orthodox Christian. The other two took Islam to survive. Emir Kusturica I was a typical farm boy. I liked the farm. I enjoyed the things that you do on a farm, go down to the drainage ditch and fish, and look at the crawfish and pick a little cotton. Sam Donaldson You always have certain strengths and certain weaknesses, and you want to compensate for your weaknesses... I have a real duty to earn the trust of the faculty. I don't just deserve it. I have to earn it. Erskine Bowles The report of this made me exceedingly angry, for I could not see why information which a middle-class woman could get from her doctor should be withheld from ...

I left Mainz after 18 years and thought, 'Next time, I will work with a

little less of my heart.' I said that because we all cried for a week. The city gave us a goodbye party, and it lasted a week. Jurgen Klopp When I'm in sneakers, it changes my body carriage. I feel more in my own skin. Justin Peck Making a film - particularly what I think is a good film - is the result of a team of people, and the end result has many, many hands on it. Haskell Wexler People call me Swimone more than Simone now.... Not quite used to that yet! Simone Manuel I have an Indian father, and when you grow up in a house with an Indian father, culturally, that's what becomes dominant in the house. So that's the tradition we grew up with. Sarita Choudhury Phryne Fisher could walk down the red carpet; Essie Davis is something else. Essie Davis Sexual orientation, color, background - that's what I want people to take away: Anyone can be anything. Ashley Thomas A lot of times, if you stay in the present and focus on getting the most out of yo...

Throughout human history, some of our most influential inventors, entrepreneurs, and leaders have had disabilities.

For example, Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson, and Charles Schwab are all dyslexic, while scientist Stephen Hawking has used a wheelchair for decades. Cathy McMorris Rodgers I've patterned myself after my musical heroes. Trisha Yearwood I value teaching. It's one of the places I get inspiration, engagement. Terrance Hayes Waking up early was the first example I noticed in the SEAL Teams in which discipline was really the difference between being good and being exceptional. Jocko Willink Walking strengthens my legs, and I swing my arms to tone my upper body. Christy Turlington As it turns out, my grandmother, my mother, my wife, and my daughter are all women, and I like those people. I'm concerned about the issues that they face in their lives. So I'm a feminist, but that's not all I am. Tommy Lee Jones When I am in front of the camera or on stage, I am not me. Sushant Singh Rajput When I talk, it shouldn't just be black girls listening. Alek...

I was really interested in the way in which poverty and economic stagnation were

transforming and corrupting the American narrative. Lynn Nottage Different cultures produce a different 'cool.' And your perception of 'cool' changes depending on where you are. Labrinth I am trying every genre. Nawazuddin Siddiqui I want to expand jazz; I don't want to keep the audience limited. I want to reach people who have never come to a jazz concert before. One way to do that is by making records that have a lot of different kinds of music on them. Charlie Haden The first year I started liking the Dolphins was Super Bowl VI, which they lost to the Cowboys. I was 5. My whole family was pulling for the Cowboys, so I rooted for the Dolphins. They lost, and I cried. Darius Rucker I will work for Tina Fey forever. Tituss Burgess As a single guy, the baseline of what I needed was so low. I just needed an air mattress, food, and rent money. Hasan Minhaj I'm a small dog guy. I don't want to be pattin' with the big Rottweiler or Great Dane. I like those ...

There is nothing on earth so easy as to forget, if a person chooses to

set about it. I'm sure I have as much forgot your poor, dear uncle, as if he had never existed; and I thought it my duty to do so. Richard Brinsley Sheridan Regaining the Champions Cup is not going to be easy. Luis Figo I think anyone would want to see their favorite band in a small club over a large stadium. Bill Wyman I'm told leather drives men up the wall. I like wearing it because it because it feels nice. Honor Blackman There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds. Alfred Lord Tennyson The trouble with baseball is that it is not played the year round. Gaylord Perry The luxury of our position now is that we can almost assemble any team to address any issue. Rem Koolhaas