John Updike Quotes

“He lost his appetite for reading. He was afraid of being overwhelmed again. In mystery novels people died like dolls being discarded; in science fiction enormities of space and time conspired to crush the humans ; and even in P.G. Wodehouse he felt a hollowness, a turning away from reality that was implicitly bitter, and became explicit in the comic figures of futile parsons.”

“Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.”

“Largely this is a class thing - writers tend to be cosseted little middle-class kiddies who think that the world owes them a royalty cheque. But just doing it - being in your room for years on end, locked in your head, alone with invented ghosts - it weakens and softens the body. And I know I can't just live in my head.”

“Theatre was my first love. I can't take the theatre out of me. And I wouldn't want to. To me, it's home.”

“I like a girl with natural beauty.”

“If a girl is smiling and is bringing positive energy and she's happy, that's what I notice right away - and her teeth.”

“I box for four hours a week and my diet is pretty healthy.”

“You just have to speak up. You just have to say, 'I would like to do this,' and it's amazing what people who listen can do for you.”

“Black history isn't a separate history. This is all of our history, this is American history, and we need to understand that. It has such an impact on kids and their values and how they view black people.”

“The functions of the family in a highly differentiated society are not to be interpreted as functions directly on behalf of the society, but on behalf of personality.”