A dead tree, cut into planks and read from one end to the other, is

a kind of line graph, with dates down one side and height along the other, as if trees, like mathematicians, had found a way of turning time into form.
Alice Oswald

There are other types of public appearances a writer does in addition to book signings and readings. Each calls for different skills. None of these skills, needless to say, are those that go into writing books.
Jane Lindskold

I think that beauty can injure you to death. It can cause an injury that can never be cured. Or it can so traumatise you, your life changes direction. The beauty of the harmony of nature that is forever lost, or a daily rite that you perform, or diving into the sea for a swim. Those experiences are going to mark you.
Toni Servillo

I wanted to be a novelist from a very early age - 11 or 12 - but I don't think I ever thought I would write historical fiction. I never thought I might write academic history because I simply wasn't good enough!
Pat Barker

The ocean is the last frontier of human empirical knowledge; even the contours on that eighth-grader's globe are the product of a mix of scientific measurement, inference and conjecture.
Alan Huffman

I learned during all my career to enjoy suffering.
Rafael Nadal

You know, I think that people give you back what you gave them. I try to be... as I am.
Pierfrancesco Favino

I'm not the most confident dancer, to be honest. Dancing on film was very difficult for me because you can see it after it's been done.
Sarah Hay

Easy, simple and great laws, which await nothing but a sign from the lawgiver to spread prosperity and vigour throughout the nation, laws which would earn him immortal hymns of gratitude down the generations, are those which are least considered or least wanted.
Cesare Beccaria

I experienced the California Northridge Earthquake of 1994 and the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, and I have thus seen firsthand how terrible and awesomely devastating a force of nature can be.
Paul Watson

Gemeoss

As costs mount, in lives and dollars, it is natural to second guess, but one

lesson I hope we have learned is that the U.S. cannot go it alone in a policy that leaves American troops taking all the risk and American taxpayers paying all of the costs. John Spratt It is by presence of mind in untried emergencies that the native metal of man is tested. James Russell Lowell I feel uncomfortable because I'm insecure about who I am. Trent Reznor Home is the most popular, and will be the most enduring of all earthly establishments. Channing Pollock We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless. Mark Rothko I'd like to see anyone do what I do for one week. GG Allin I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house. Yogi Berra

My first joke was about a company called Five Star Parking that was all over

Philadelphia: 'Who's reviewing parking lots?' Adam McKay I don't have to try to be perfect because I know that my fans like me for who I am. They like me because I am weird and kind of funky, but still really calm. Bella Thorne It's a funny feeling to work with people who you consider your colleagues and to realize that they actually are young enough to be your children. Alan Alda There was a time when cowboys respected their horses instead of riding them to death just to show off for a crowd. Tommy Lee My friends and family are amazed I've done so well. I was not a model student. No one expected that I'd build a Fortune 500 company at Symantec. John W. Thompson Before 'Moonrise,' I never thought I would be in a movie where I would be struck by lightning. Jared Gilman The theme of sisters - of missing sisters, of needing sisters, the special love that sisters share or the antagonism sisters share - is something that is very close to...

I had my fortune told once at the Great Wall of China. A withered old

lady told my fortune - but it was probably one of these things that are set up to rip off tourists. She told me a couple of vague things that came true, but she was probably just lucky. I would never do it again.Sarah Alexander I will never create a romantic angle to survive on a game show.Karishma Tanna I'm thinking about being the best I can be at ESPN in the studio.Chauncey Billups I am resilient like my mother and have the ability to face any kind of storm.Arjun Kapoor I'm a lawyer. The right to life is important.Jejomar Binay When I dance, I escape the present and become one with my soul.Normani Kordei Literally, when I go to the vocal coach, I'm like, 'You are teaching me nothing.' You know?Zara Larsson Everyone in my family is pretty much tone-deaf.Tobias Jesso, Jr. Money is something that keeps you alive and healthy and just keeps you focused. It's the drive. It's the passion.Travis Scott You know what's better than bui...

Photographic memory is often confused with another bizarre - but real - perceptual phenomenon called

eidetic memory, which occurs in between 2 and 15 percent of children and very rarely in adults. An eidetic image is essentially a vivid afterimage that lingers in the mind's eye for up to a few minutes before fading away. Joshua Foer One of my favorite films is 'Dumb and Dumber.' I'd love to do some really silly comedy someday. Paul Dano In my family, as in most middle-class Indian families I knew when I was growing up, science and mathematics were held in awe. Aravind Adiga I give the spectator the possibility of participating. The audience completes the film by thinking about it; those who watch must not be just consumers ingesting spoon-fed images. Michael Haneke Even The Impostors, as silly as it is, is a very intimate film, in a way. Stanley Tucci There's no doubt I'm emotional. Sidney Crosby Knowledge is ancient error reflecting on its youth. Francis Picabia I can only be who I am. Enya The South African government, unlike a lot of ...

Marc Jacobs is full of creative people and Louis Vuitton is again a name on

the door, a name that has existed for many years but I'm a collaborator there and I bring in other people, other artists and I work with a great creative design team. Marc Jacobs Now, bipolar disorder, it goes on a spectrum. There's very severe conditions of it and there are milder ones. I'm lucky enough that it's reasonably mild in my case. Stephen Fry The tech community is a closely knit group, which is why it's so powerful. All of these companies have an affinity for each other, even if they compete with each other. Ron Conway Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about the Bill of Rights most of the time. James Bovard Talking with my friends and family every day helps keep me grounded and connected to home. They are the most important things to me. Colbie Caillat Hill Street Blues might have been the first television show that had a memory. One episode after another was part o...

Luckily, I'm in a band with two other guys who really pull their own weight and have the

skills and abilities to compensate for my weaknesses. Isaac Hanson There are some signs that can indicate she might be interested. Woman might do subconscious things like play with their hair or orient their body towards your direction. Charli XCX When people are crass or loudmouthed, it's not because they don't give a damn. It's from fear and insecurity. Patty Jenkins I really started to enjoy Instagram more recently because it's something that shows people what I'm doing and what I'm going through, but it's so simple. I don't have to come up with something witty; it's just a funny photo, and you can be as artistic or as plain Jane as you want. Alex Morgan 'One With You' was the hardest book I have ever written. I rewrote it three times. Sylvia Day I've never played, on the field, any other position besides quarterback. Never been on a special team. Never been on defense. Peyton Manning My dad got me hooked on the news. That was a good ...

In the real world, there's probably nothing more horrifying than racism. Living

racism is a horrifying experience. And then, having to normalize it and internalize it. Daniel Kaluuya I'll be a mentor to those who want to create a business, product or service and aren't exactly sure how to do that. To me, it's a true sign of success if I can help someone have a better time of it. Joy Mangano I'm a fan at heart. Robert Kraft My mother graduated from high school at 15 and went to work to support the family because the eldest son went to college. Ruth Bader Ginsburg When he emerged Lou Dobbs the populist, he was so hard to peg. A mishmash of contradictions: anti-outsourcing, anti-globalization, pro-international-trade, pro-free-enterprise, anti-corporatism, pro-choice, pro-Second Amendment, pro-gay-marriage, pro-gays-serving-openly-in-the-military, pro-military, anti-war-in-Iraq-and-Afghanistan. Jeanne Marie Laskas I started out splitting my time between the Kansas City and St. Louis comedy scenes, which both had bluer sensibilities than other cities...

The nature of a protective immune response to HIV is still unclear. Because in a

very, very unique manner, unlike virtually any other microbe with which we're familiar, the HIV virus has evolved in a way that the immune system finds it very difficult, if not impossible, to deal with the virus. Anthony Fauci In poetry you can express almost inexpressible feelings. You can express the pain of loss, you can express love. People always turn to poetry when someone they love dies, when they fall in love. Erica Jong My father had all these great names for our cows. Bossy and Daisy and Petunia and Turnip. One of my jobs was to round up the cows before milking. I'd go out back with the dog and bring them in. Bobbie Ann Mason I quite like to sing, actually - just belting out numbers with my guitar. I find that it's a form of tranquility. Jack O'Connell I was 3 and a half, and there was an open call for a Coca-Cola commercial. We were living around Dallas, and my mom took me. I think they were calling for 16-year-olds that could ride horses and swi...

I've seen a couple white girls coming to my concerts wearing head wraps, and I think

they look so cute. It's kind of sad to see that people are really into separation, trying to separate everybody and making a clear division of 'us against you,' even with fashion. That sucks. It's not the way the world is supposed to be. Yuna When I did 'Memento,' independent film was where all the really good stuff was. Carrie-Anne Moss A lot of new artists sign their deal and then go into a development stage for a year or two or sometimes never get out of it. For me, because I had been a working songwriter in town, I had a collection of songs that I was ready to make into an album. At the time, I didn't realize it was becoming an album, but it was. Maren Morris I always wanted to be an actress, but my parents were adamant that I complete my studies first before I take up acting. Keerthy Suresh Nan Gorman was born in Memphis, Tenn., on St. Patrick's Day. She moved to Hazard in 1929 when her father, James Hagan, a recent medical school graduate and asp...

The more specific we are, the more universal something can become. Life is

in the details. If you generalize, it doesn't resonate. The specificity of it is what resonates. Jacqueline Woodson You have to be pretty selfless to have a child, who doesn't give a lot back to you. Gillian Flynn We may have a tacit understanding of how our solar system works, but watching the sun disappear behind the moon reminds us of the vastness of space and the enduring mysteries of the universe we inhabit. Jenna Wortham You're going to find out who your friends are. Anything that happens in your life is one of those challenges. It may not be at the level of celebrity, but everybody's going to travel that road. Stanley A. McChrystal There are certainly things in live broadcasts that I've done that I wish I could have gone back to edit and make better. It's hard, because you want it to be perfect, and it just isn't. Even in the edited ones, it's not everything you want it to be - but it's closer. Lonny Price I was actually a really sort of ner...