“He never bothered listening to sports; the bored him, every one of them.” — Michael Finkel Sports Copy Share Image
“the true solitary does not seek himself, but loses himself.” — Michael Finkel Loses Copy Share Image
I'd lied many times: to bolster my credentials, to elicit sympathy, to make myself appear less ordinary. — Michael Finkel Less Copy Share Image
I never do formal interviews. I don't use a tape recorder. I take notes but occasionally. — Michael Finkel Interview Copy Share Image
My fight-or-flight mechanism... had served me well in Gaza, in Afghanistan, and all the places I'd been. — Michael Finkel Afghanistan Copy Share Image
America might be the land of second chances, but it ain't the land of third chances. — Michael Finkel America Copy Share Image
“He has seen the bottomless nonsense of our world and has decided, like most of us, to simply try to tolerate it.… — Michael Finkel Rational Copy Share Image
There have always been hermits: people who want to get away from other humans. Literally, some of the first extant books and… — Michael Finkel Alone Copy Share Image
“The American essayist William Deresiewicz wrote that “no real excellence, personal or social, artistic, philosophical, scientific, or moral, can arise without solitude.” — Michael Finkel Essayist Copy Share Image
I think many people have this sense that something about modern society - the screens, the noise, the traffic, the constant busyness… — Michael Finkel Living Copy Share Image
“The first great literary work about solitude, the Tao Te Ching, was written in ancient China, likely in the sixth century B.C.,… — Michael Finkel Solitude Copy Share Image
“The world is a confusing place, meaningful and meaningless at once.” — Michael Finkel Meaningless Copy Share Image
“Those with less become content,” says the Tao, “those with more become confused.” The” — Michael Finkel Happiness Copy Share Image
Not to get too maudlin, but I think all mistakes are tests for one's mettle. — Michael Finkel Failure Copy Share Image
“Lao-tzu’s Tao Te Ching (I recommend the Red Pine translation), and started swimming from there. Excellent” — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“Knight's disdain for Thoreau was bottomless - 'he had no deep insight into nature'...” — Michael Finkel Books Copy Share Image
I committed pretty much the worst thing you can do, which is defraud the readers. — Michael Finkel Books Copy Share Image
“The life inside a book always felt welcoming to Knight. It pressed no demands on him, while the world of human interactions… — Michael Finkel Books Copy Share Image
“Two of life’s greatest pleasures, by my reckoning, are camping and reading—most gloriously, both at once.” — Michael Finkel Life Copy Share Image
“survive, and neither do the strong. Life is a constant, merciless fight that everyone loses.” — Michael Finkel Life Copy Share Image
“The fact that Longo himself was a skilled liar seemed to engender in him an ancillary condition in which he was distrustful… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
My advice for telling someone else's story is to try not to consciously bend the story in any particular direction - to… — Michael Finkel Advice Copy Share Image
Modern life, especially with young children, so often seems like a mad rush... We so rarely take time to just do nothing… — Michael Finkel Children Copy Share Image
“Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, wrote that nothing can be expressed about solitude “that has not already been said better by the… — Michael Finkel Pine trees Copy Share Image
“Socrates may have concluded that his most valuable possession was his leisure. “Beware the barrenness of a busy life” is a quote… — Michael Finkel Busy life Copy Share Image
I spent most of my youth in Montana, where there are long, cold winters, but Maine has the coldest winters you could… — Michael Finkel Cold Copy Share Image
I tend to be a fairly spirited person, but I've never hated anyone more than I hated Christian Longo after his trial,… — Michael Finkel Duped Copy Share Image
In an odd sort of way, the computer and the Internet is the hermit's ideal form of communication. You don't have to… — Michael Finkel Communication Copy Share Image
“Perceptive and valuable personal explorations of time alone include A Book of Silence by Sara Maitland, Party of One by Anneli Rufus,… — Michael Finkel Books Copy Share Image
“Not for a moment did he consider keeping a journal. He would never allow anyone to read his private thoughts; therefore, he… — Michael Finkel Keeping a journal Copy Share Image
“One’s desire to be alone, biologists have found, is partially genetic and to some degree measurable. If you have low levels of… — Michael Finkel Hormone Copy Share Image
“Soon he essentially stopped talking. "I am retreating into silence as a defensive mode," he mentioned. Eventually, he was down to uttering… — Michael Finkel Comfortable Copy Share Image
“I become a transparent eyeball,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in “Nature.” “I am nothing; I see all.” Lord Byron called it “the… — Michael Finkel Fifteen years Copy Share Image
