It's a strange failure of the literary world that Updike never quite received his due.

Despite winning two Pulitzers and two National Book Awards and countless other awards and honours, he was denied the Nobel.

Justin Cartwright

I cut school to read Shakespeare and to learn about that because, for the first time, I felt like I really discovered a passion - the passion of my life.
Jessica Chastain

I don't think of bouncing between acting and singing as a transition but rather as an expansion. I love both crafts so deeply, I feel my heart and soul have no choice but to explore both. I could never choose between the two of them. I am passionate about both for equal yet different reasons.
Ryan McCartan

Monsters are a storytelling tool, like domestic realism and close third.
Colson Whitehead

Producer Michael Davies - who did 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' - offered me a TV show, but I turned it down. I wasn't negotiating: It just didn't sound like a good idea. Then he offered me another show, and I said, 'No thanks' again. When I heard about 'Win Ben Stein's Money,' I thought, 'OK, that sounds like a good idea.'
Jimmy Kimmel

One of the things I love about wen wu is its encouragement of developing the spiritual and intellectual aspects of the self that are actually more important than the development of the body and the capacity to commit violence - which is how much of Western pop culture defines a man.
Alex Tizon

Mr. Trump is primarily a television personality. As such, he is judged by that standard. This means that a scandal does not call forth a response; it calls forth the desire for a bigger scandal.
Timothy D. Snyder

That Evan Dunham fight, I went back to not being serious. I was going to the lake and literally brought some wrestling mats down with me. We have a shop at the lake where we park the boat. I'd throw the mats in there, wakeboard all day, and train all night. I was having a good time, getting back to work.
Donald Cerrone

Some of the greatest hip-hop artists have incorporated elements from electronic shows into their setup. People are taking notice. It's going to be a new wave.
Pusha T

We developed a system in Romania that was very successfully continued for a number of years, but I don't know if it was because of some conflict in the organisation or whether there was government interference... but somehow, they have forgotten the importance of raising gymnasts to be ready for every Olympics.
Nadia Comaneci

Reproductive rights are about body and medical autonomy: our collective and deeply personal right to choose what we want to do to/with our bodies. Trans people and feminists should be building natural alliances here.
Janet Mock

Gemeoss

I feel my work is made for one being, one individual. You could say that's

me, but that's not really true. It's for an idealized viewer. James Turrell The only thing we know for sure about superiority in sports in the United States of America in the 20th century is that Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics teams he led stand alone as the ultimate winners. Frank Deford I love yoga. There's a lot of stretching involved, which helps with my flexibility and injury prevention. Vinyasa is my favorite as a recovery tool and for me to continue having my legs feel good. Alex Morgan When you get on the back side of your 60s, most people aren't working. Tom Petty God doesn't give you more than you can handle. Leanne Caret For as long as I can remember, I've just loved Chanel. Lily-Rose Depp I always dreamed of going to the Olympics. To be going to the Games in your own country is another thing; to do it as a potential medallist is another thing again. Hannah Mills To me, Berlin is as much a conceit as a reality. Why? Because t...

Native Americans' families experience living surrounded, living in increasingly small reservations surrounded by the society

that destroyed their civilization, and are still stigmatized. For decades and decades, for hundreds of years except in Indian schools, they weren't allowed to speak their language. That stigma takes a terrible toll. Joshua Oppenheimer Someone once accused me of slumming. I don't know what that means. I play basketball. And through that, I get to see a world that is not smart-kid world. Nick McDonell My father had a piano that was a nickelodeon - put a nickel, and the roller would play. Frank Sinatra As a child, I spent a lot of time at the library. Tracy Chapman It's such a cliche thing to say. I want to choreograph, I want to direct, I want to act, I want to write music, I want to play music, I want to sing. For me, it's never-ending. I want to do it all, really. Derek Hough Before someone can change his ideas, he has to open his heart. Maajid Nawaz In the IPL, you are often single-handedly responsible for the fortunes of your team. It makes you more ...

I've gone through that with my mother and father and here I was in a

similar situation. I've wronged her and I've wronged the family. Because when these things happen, it doesn't just happen to you, it happens to the people around you and the family. John Prescott Before I was an actor I was a break dancer, one of those street performers you see. I guess my introduction into the professional world of performing was a stint as back up dancer for Lionel Richie and I performed at the closing ceremony at the '84 Olympics. Cuba Gooding, Jr. Frank Morley, who had worked in London at Faber and Faber, was the new head of Harcourt Brace, and he hired me to start in 1940. The early years at Harcourt were wonderful. Almost my first assignment was Virginia Woolf's novel 'Between the Acts.' Robert Giroux I suspect that many corporations have begun to understand that they have an important role to play in the lives of their communities, and that allocating funds to support local groups helps them discharge that function and also b...

When 'The Dark Side of the Moon' was a new album in 1973, a friend

of mine walked into my room where I was working with a copy in his hand and said, 'You really have to do a play about this album.' Tom Stoppard I realised success as an actor alone wouldn't make me happy. I needed to explore my spiritual side in more depth. Linus Roache I think 'lunch' is one of the funniest words in the world. Stephen Sondheim Because there's no structural barrier to joining 4chan, the community is really dynamic; for every five people that leave, five new people join, bringing their perspective and culture. A lot of other communities get set in their ways. Christopher Poole Money has never been my drive. I have never seen the shortage of money in my life, so for me, I don't want to buy a silk pillow or a private jet... My drive is to achieve more than what my grandfather achieved; my drive is to make a name for myself, get rid of this 'star son' tag that has been attached to me. Ranbir Kapoor I used to work as a volu...

The fact that I'm shouting that I have Gangnam style makes people crack up. Imagine

if Brad Pitt was singing the song - would it be funny? A twist is important when it comes to writing lyrics. Psy It was so weird that I would end up directing 'The Greatest Game Ever Played,' because, y'know, I'm not a big golfer myself. But I grew up around the game. My mom and dad kind of built their dream house off the 11th fairway of Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth. Bill Paxton Every time I was driving on the L.A. freeway in a small car, it was very unnerving for me. One time I rented an SUV, and it just changed my whole perspective of driving, and I was converted to SUVs from that day on. Lauren Lee Smith One of the toughest guys in the world is Randy Couture - he is the true epitome of what a tough guy is. Jason Statham There are millions and billions of atoms of memory of all kinds of musical themes in me. Erykah Badu Even something as stupid as Vine videos makes you feel like you're making things on your own. Gillian Jacobs I am oppos...

I have not made any suggestions about climate change. This is more about blending or

shifting the conversation about the environment versus the economy. It's just such an old, outdated conversation. Jennifer Granholm Sometimes shooting on a smaller scale, as long as things don't blow out of proportion, is very liberating. Daniel Craig Because I'm so known as a meat-chef, when I talk about Meatless Monday some people look at me like I've lost my mind. I'm like, look, I'm not saying beef and pork is bad, I love it and I eat it six days a week. Michael Symon I think character is permanent, and issues are transient. James Stockdale It is true that I was born in Iowa, but I can't speak for my twin sister. Pauline Phillips I came from a town of maybe 30,000 people. Jim Caviezel The rights of homosexual people are human rights, and human rights are for everyone. Ricky Martin I'm pretty much honest to a fault. It's my best and my worst quality. Jennifer Westfeldt I loved Australia. I was very successful there. Todd B...

The New Testament is of full authority and open to the understanding of simple men

as to the points most needful to salvation. John Wycliffe It's funny, because there are so many stereotypes out there about actors and movie stars in general, but I've had a great opportunity to meet a lot of them, and maybe it's just because they don't behave that way around me, but I rarely see that kind of abuse of power. Ryan Reynolds At the suggestion of Professor Itaru Watanabe, and with his help, I left Japan at the age of twenty-three to pursue graduate study at the University of California at San Diego. Susumu Tonegawa Not everybody is a great rapper; not everybody lives for the art of lyricism. Wale From my perspective, I absolutely believe in a greater spiritual power, far greater than I am, from which I have derived strength in moments of sadness or fear. That's what I believe, and it was very, very strong in the forest. Jane Goodall You must make some decisions Wall Street dislikes. Nelson Peltz Debt, we've learned, is the match th...

My songs have always been frustrating themes, relationships that I've had. And now that I'm

in love, I expect it to be really happy, or at least there won't be half as much anger as there was. Kurt Cobain My house is solar powered. I tell Republicans, 'You can hate the subsidies - I hate the subsidies, too - but you can't hate solar panels.' Thomas Massie Fortunately, I grew up in a family that was grounded. My mother and father knew how to guide my career and look out for my best interests. Larenz Tate Perhaps the greatest Maya mystery of all is the cause of the civilization's abrupt decline. The last dated stela erected at Tikal was put up in A.D. 869; the last anywhere in the Maya world, in 909. David Roberts In the end, punk inevitably burned itself out and acted as a bridge across which the New Romantics could sashay in their chiffon and glossy hair. Jo Brand I want to be the player who hits home runs, drives in runs. Mark Teixeira Humorists are using Twitter to tell jokes in an interesting way. It doesn't have to be profound, an...

Adele shattered the image of how the stereotypical singer is supposed to look. She has

that whole 'Screw you, I'm awesome for what I do' attitude, which I really look up to and want to be a part of. Mary Lambert In the late 1990s, I wrote a book from the point of view of a young black woman who has barricaded herself in her college dorm room, pursued by a man, either real or imagined, who finally materializes as the father she has never known. Susan Shreve I don't party. I'm a total homebody. I like hanging out with my cat, and I've actually been known to stay home and knit. Bethany Joy Lenz I'm loving 'We Are Young,' by Fun. Really gets the morning rockin' to a great start. Katy Mixon In 1983, all of us had U.S. passports, but because there was so much tension between America and the U.S.S.R., we were announced as a Canadian group. Paul Horn I always like an environment where there's lots of women and everyone's different. Megalyn Echikunwoke If people make a lot of introductions, should they get recogniz...

In a way, Strandbeests have turned into migration animals, and the step counter gives them

an idea of where they are. While counting their steps, they know more or less where they are between Kijkduin and Scheveningen. Theo Jansen When I was in New York, I took my bike everywhere for transportation. I didn't have a fixed-gear bicycle, like a lot of the messengers do, but I had a stripped-down deal - having lost a few good ones in New York - and I did 10 to 15 miles a day just getting around the city. Thomas Gibson We are awash in content that needs to be taught, yet the vast majority of colleges give a large portion of their faculties' salaries to fund research. Clayton M. Christensen Women are at once the guardians and the well-spring of the world's faith, morality, and tenderness; and if ever they are degraded to a commonplace level with men, this fine essential quality will be impaired, and their weakness will have to beg and follow where now it guides and controls. John Boyle O'Reilly A lot of people have told me, 'You're not this and ...