Trollope wrote so many novels and other works that they tend to crowd each other out. — Jane Smiley Books Copy Share Image
The desire to write a novel is the single required prerequisite for writing a novel. — Jane Smiley Books Copy Share Image
Gossip. The more you talk about why people do things, the more ideas you have about how the world works. — Jane Smiley Gossip Copy Share Image
“Almonds. Apricots. Avocadoes. Some peaches I don't know. Grapefruit. Lemones. Probably oranges.” — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
A novelist is on the cusp between someone who knows everything and someone who knows nothing. — Jane Smiley Cusp Copy Share Image
“It is hard to know whether an air of self-confidence precedes or follows success.” — Jane Smiley Confidence Copy Share Image
“War is inevitable when the world is fallen. If you stop one, another will start. Redemption is the only path away from… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
Write every day, just to keep in the habit, and remember that whatever you have written is neither as good nor as… — Jane Smiley Day Copy Share Image
“Well, being a perfectionist seems okay from the outside, but a perfectionist never enjoys anything, no matter how well it goes, because… — Jane Smiley Perfection Copy Share Image
Critical thinking is to a liberal education as faith is to religion. ... the converse was true also - faith is to… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
“Had I faced all the facts It seemed like I had but actually you never know just by remembering how many there… — Jane Smiley Facing life Copy Share Image
everything is toxic. That's the point. You can't avoid toxins. Thinking you can is just another symptom of the toxic overload stage. — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
All equestrians, if they last long enough, learn that riding in whatever form is a lifelong sport and art, an endeavor that… — Jane Smiley Art Copy Share Image
I have noticed before that there is a category of acquaintanceship that is not friendship or business or romance, but speculation, fascination. — Jane Smiley Business Copy Share Image
I say, when your hair turns gray and your children think they know who you are, do the thing that shakes up… — Jane Smiley Children Copy Share Image
There is a sociology of horses, as well as a psychology. It is most evident in the world of horse racing, where… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
a bookstore is one of the few places where all the cantankerous, conflicting, alluring voices of the world co-exist in peace and… — Jane Smiley Alluring Copy Share Image
With horses, familiarity breeds comfort. If you haven't been around horses for a while (or ever), the best thing to do is… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
“But now I saw with fresh conviction that is was us, all of us, who were failing, and the hallmark of our… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
When I came home for the summer after my first year of college, I told my mother that my best friend and… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
In December 1998, I considered myself an expert on love. I was almost a year into a relationship, one that had grown… — Jane Smiley December Copy Share Image
'Ape House' is an ambitious novel in several ways, for which it is to be admired, and it is certainly an easy… — Jane Smiley Ambitious Copy Share Image
Sinclair Lewis may be ripe for a revival; his books raise several interesting issues of art and fashion. — Jane Smiley Art Copy Share Image
In his 30 years of broadcasting and publishing fiction, Garrison Keillor has set the laugh bar pretty high. — Jane Smiley Bar Copy Share Image
As soon as you bring up money, I notice, conversation gets sociological, then political, then moral. — Jane Smiley Communication Copy Share Image
Good intentions are wicked! As far as I can see, all they lead to are lies and delusions. — Jane Smiley Delusion Copy Share Image
How will you know a good farmer when you meet him? He will not ask you for any favors. — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
Your sons weren't made to like you. That's what grandchildren are for. — Jane Smiley Children Copy Share Image
Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book. — Jane Smiley Book Copy Share Image
The one thing ... maybe no family could tolerate was things coming out into the open. — Jane Smiley Coming out Copy Share Image
Progressivism is usually seen as a stepping back from individualism into a progressive community... — Jane Smiley Community Copy Share Image
“The novel is, above all, an intense experience of prolonged intimacy with another consciousness.” — Jane Smiley Books Copy Share Image
There are several methods for introducing your children to driving, and all of them are bad. Probably the worst is to put… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
'The Good Soldier' is an odd and maybe even unique book. That it is a masterpiece, almost a perfect novel, comes as… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
Fascination with horses predated every other single thing I knew. Before I was a mother, before I was a writer, before I… — Jane Smiley Facts Copy Share Image
Americans took a great deal too much credit for creating wealth, when most of the time they had really just been living… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
