I spend my life writing fiction, so reading fiction isn't much of an escape. That's

not always true, but I don't read much contemporary fiction.
Alan Furst

Find someone who is having a hard time, or is ill, or lonely, and do something for him or her.
Thomas S. Monson

Having it all means different things to different people. I think it's an individual choice. Nothing is perfect. Everyone makes sacrifices. For me, it's worked out well. I have children. I have a very interesting career. But it's not for everybody.
Renee James

When I'm at a show, I'm there to have fun. Let's just not care for a moment. So this cake in your face is to make you lose your mind. And it's not about caring about whatever you are wearing and caring what other people are thinking about you. Out of the context, I'm trying to develop something else.
Steve Aoki

I cannot transfer my abilities to anyone, but I can think of quicker ways with which to help people develop numerical aptitude.
Shakuntala Devi

I really don't have a type. I never had a type. If I could put them all together, it's, like, the most different grouping. So I love when guys are funny. I love guys that are funny and goofy and over the top. And you know, I really like personality.
Kaley Cuoco

In a romantic comedy, it's usually a good idea to have people who can't stand the fact that they are attracted to each other.
Amanda Peet

I love how music and fashion are so similar. We need each other.
Rita Ora

Mariacarla Boscono has taught me a lot, and I have been lucky enough to become good friends with so many amazing models.
Kendall Jenner

We love our planet Earth. We should - it is our home, and there's no place like home. There can't ever be a better place than Earth.
Dimitar Sasselov

I think this last film I finished, 'The Butler,' is the closest I will come to as a work-for-hire.
Lee Daniels

Gemeoss

Persuasiveness is really just about getting your ideas across without being forceful.

It's a skill that can be learned and is useful for anyone who works in a team environment. Amanda de Cadenet I was an extra in a Tia Carrere music video. Adam Scott When people start to think they're figuring out 'The Vampire Diaries,' it switches on you. Kat Graham It's a huge blessing to know you've done something that has affected people the way 'The Matrix' has. It's like, there's 'Star Wars,' and then there's 'The Matrix.' It's cool to be a part of that. Laurence Fishburne Voters aren't asking to be pandered to and aren't asking to be tricked. Jason Kander I'm a pretty controlled and disciplined person, but my real vice is buying plants and food shopping. Zac Posen Barack Obama was a president who understood not only how technology could transform the way government services worked but also technology itself. He got it. Steven Levy Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up...

I want to thank my mom, Brenda Rose. My heart, the reason I play the

way I play, just everything. Just knowing the days I don't feel right, going to practice, having a hard time, I think about her when she had to wake me up, go to work and make sure I was all right. Those were hard days. Derrick Rose I've read every Madonna biography. I've also looked up every pop star to see how they first made it. The biggest thing I learnt was that you have to be pro-active. You can't be scared. Marina and the Diamonds I think it's part of being English, particularly if you are middle-class - you're always looking to be reminded that you are no good and you are always actually embarrassed about being successful. Chris Martin I certainly think it's very important that writers as citizens - not necessarily as writers, but just as ordinary citizens - should talk about things that matter to them. Vikram Seth My motivation and aspiration is the same, being number one or being number five. So that's the truth. And my goal is the ...

We all live in a free Poland, and there would be no free Poland without

you, Twenty-five years ago, I did not stand on the same side together with you, but today I have no doubts that it was your vision of Poland which led us in the right direction. Aleksander Kwasniewski And to Shakespeare I owe my vision of the world as a theater, wherein all humans are acting out their parts. James Broughton If I wasn't an actor, I'd be a teacher, a history teacher. After all, teaching is very much like performing. A teacher is an actor, in a way. It takes a great deal to get, and hold, a class. Richard Dreyfuss I don't know what the future holds, but I have to be confident about it. It's just the way I am. Dawn French English is taking over the world. I just wrote a piece about it. And it's not by design. The United States dominates because it's the biggest market. Norman Spinrad There's a cardinal rule that you don't talk about sharks. If you don't see it, it's not there. Mark Warkentin I had so many freckles t...

I feel like every time I start up, it's like a truck you have to

get into 15th gear, so you very solely crank into that mental space where you feel really immersed in the world of the book and then you can just kind of go. But there's just that few days of frustration to get to that point. Chad Harbach It's important for a parent to learn to take delight in a child whose behavior might seem mystifying. In the case of an extroverted parent with an introverted child, it can be learning to see the inner riches of your child that may not always be expressed on the surface - but are there. Susan Cain After guest appearances, I got the offer to do the show as the successor of Arthur Schwartz. It's so much fun. Rocco DiSpirito The Whitney is a museum that has a great rapport with younger artists and the community. Jeff Koons Is only a tennis match. At the end, that's life. There is much more important things. Rafael Nadal I have to tell them that last night was a shameful train wreck filled with blind cuddly puppies. Charlie...

I hadn't played any music since freshman year of college, more than thirty years ago,

so I had to relearn everything. I started writing songs. Some were dance and trance songs (I listen to them a lot while I'm writing), and some were love songs, because that after all is what music is about - dancing and trancing and love and love's setbacks. Nicholson Baker People first concern themselves with meeting their basic needs; only afterwards, do they pursue any higher needs. Abdolkarim Soroush I didn't want to just be another girl singer. I wanted there to be something that set me apart. Taylor Swift I came to Hollywood and nobody knew me. I was on a coupla TV shows. Peter Falk I am against any reconciliation with Israel. Hassan Nasrallah It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge. Enrico Fermi We had some problems - my children were kidnapped during that time, and it just changed my whole way of thinking, from being in show business and everything else. Solomon Burke With 'Girls,' it ...

I wrote two poems about the '81 uprisings: 'Di Great Insohreckshan' and 'Mekin Histri.' I

wrote those two poems from the perspective of those who had taken part in the Brixton riots. The tone of the poem is celebratory because I wanted to capture the mood of exhilaration felt by black people at the time. Linton Kwesi Johnson Julia Roberts is a favorite. Everybody loves her in the Hollywood community. The public adores her. Mary Hart The reason I became a better player was because I came to Philly. Michael Vick I have a lot of younger fans, obviously the choices I make often influence them. But having said that, it's kind of the best motivation in the world to stay positive and make good choices. James Maslow Investors have to ask themselves two questions. How much can we grow our investments? And, can we afford our mistakes? Mohamed El-Erian In Sierra Leone last year there was just the two of us hanging out of a helicopter and, when we were in Bosnia, I drove an armoured vehicle, thousands of miles. Kate Adie The higher a man stands, the more the word ...

I stand here today as the first woman first minister of our country. Every day I hold this

office, I will work to ensure that every woman, every wee girl across this country, gets a chance to do what I've done and follow their dream. Nicola Sturgeon When a president was elected with foreign policy experience, it was usually less about his foreign policy experience than other things. H. W. Brands The result may not be perfect. But our forefathers wanted us to compromise to get things done for America. Gene Green I do believe in the old saying, 'What does not kill you makes you stronger.' Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity. Angelina Jolie Tennis has opened a number of possibilities for me, and in future, it would be great to give something back. Ana Ivanovic No good writer ever merely cheered us up. But there's an unblinking stare into the darkness of things we have to go elsewhere to find. Jane Austen was made of strong stuff. She was too satiric for D. H. Lawrence's taste and too u...

It's not hard to assume that voters do not have deeply considered views on

each and every policy issue before them but instead, perhaps, have one or two strongly held views and then allow their favored political leaders to fill in the gaps on the rest of the issues. Kristen Soltis Anderson I've been given this amazing platform as an Olympic athlete, and there are so many people out there who don't feel like their voice is being heard. I feel it's my responsibility to speak out on issues that are important. Adam Rippon That's all TV acting is. Like, let me find my mark and seem like I'm still acting. Sometimes they'll put sandbags there, but then it's even funnier because you're walking and you're, like, stepping into sandbags, so now you look like you're having a seizure. Laura Benanti I've always wanted to be a woman who isn't afraid to tell her story. Andra Day I'm happy where I'm at now, but I want to show the world that I'm the No. 1 fighter. I want to prove it the wor...

The loneliest ebb of my life came on that Christmas eve, only one day after

my arrival in New York. The abyss of loneliness. I ate a solitary dinner in a small cafe, and the very food tasted bitter with my unshed tears. One doesn't dare cry in America. It is unmanly here.Rudolph Valentino If you start lifting weights, you will expect to put weight on, as muscle is heavier than fat. But you have to look more at your body shape - you will get heavier - but you might get smaller and heavier at the same time, which is fine. And it doesn't really matter what you weigh as long as you are happy with your shape and size!Victoria Pendleton Even if the production doesn't feel African, the vocal delivery - singing through your nose. Specifically, Highlife music from Nigeria. That was the first music I ever heard as a child. So singing through my nose is something I do often, and that's directly rooted in my heritage.Jidenna I don't think a baby is something that you should do because other people are doing it.Andy Samberg The difference be...

Coach Morris wasn't too hard on me, not at all. Being drafted where I was

at, there were high expectations for me. I still have high expectations for myself. Gaines Adams I'm very boring. But I'm a bit obsessed with women that are so incredibly solid in their shoes that they don't care what other people think of them. I just think there's something so interesting about that kind of confidence. Melissa McCarthy At the Home Run Derby, you're expected to hit home runs. You're up there trying to hit home runs. Frank Thomas I went to high school in Virginia Beach, Va., and we had these guys - they were surfers. They didn't like me, never talked to me. And if they didn't like you, they threw toothpicks at you. After I did a play, it was different. I found out I was pretty good at something. Stephen Furst I try to lead a pretty active lifestyle. My biggest hobby is traveling with my family. I love to travel to new places and try crazy things. I'm a bit of a daredevil, so I have done things like zip lining, parasailing...