John Updike Quotes

Living is a compromise, between doing what you want and doing what other people want.

I like old men. They can be wonderful bastards because they have nothing to lose. The only people who can be themselves are babies and old bastards.

It is easy to love people in memory; the hard thing is to love them when they are there in front of you.

Most of American life consists of driving somewhere and then returning home, wondering why the hell you went.

Perfectionism is the enemy of creation, as extreme self- solitude is the enemy of well- being.

The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and he does it without destroying something else.

Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.

Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.

Looking foolish does the spirit good. The need not to look foolish is one of youth's many burdens; as we get older we are exempted from more and more.

Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered.

I want to write books that unlock the traffic jam in everybody's head.

Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better.

Do what the heart commands. The heart is our only guide.

Sex is like money; only too much is enough.

Chaos is God's body. Order is the Devil's chains.

It's great to have an enemy. Sharpens your senses.

Every marriage tends to consist of an aristocrat and a peasant. Of a teacher and a learner.

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership in the world.

Existence itself does not feel horrible; it feels like an ecstasy, rather, which we have only to be still to experience.

I think books should have secrets, like people do.

A photograph offers us a glimpse into the abyss of time.

If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price.

What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.

The world ... is full of people who never knew what hit 'em, their lives are over before they wake up.

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.