Come to the book as you would come to an unexplored land. Come without a map. Explore it and draw your own map.

Good books are for consideration after, too.

If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.

A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger.

A book is like a pump. It gives nothing unless first you give to it. You prime a pump with your own water, you work the handle with your own strength. You do this because you expect to get back more than you give.

You want to remember that while you're judging the book, the book is also judging you.