A biography for Christina Baker Klinehasn’t been written yet.
“I often work and write in coffee shops, observing the baristas and eavesdropping on interesting conversations.”
“There's no question that my son is better prepared for college than I was. He manages his time better, is more efficient and more directed, and spends less time in lines and more time doing exactly what he sets out to do.”
“Know what a symbol is?...Shit that stands for shit.”
“Book clubs, both online and in person, have become a large percentage of the reading public, and many of them won't consider reading books in hardcover.”
“It is marvelous to be young on a big city street.”
“As a novelist, I have always been interested in how people come to terms with difficult, life-altering events.”
“The smallest things get to her. It's as if she assumes everything will go right, and when it doesn't -- which, of course, is pretty often -- she is surprised and affronted.”
“Words are both my vocation and my avocation - reading, writing, editing, teaching.”
“I don't think that trauma is an illusion; there is no question in my mind that circumstances beyond our control can shape and define us. But ultimately, we make choices about letting ourselves be defined by our pasts.”
“I think fondly of the rabbit holes I disappeared down when I researched papers for history and English because I couldn't find quite what I was looking for, or because I had to go through so much material to find examples for my thesis.”
“If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead.”
“I learned long ago that loss is not only probable but inevitable. I know what it means to lose everything, to let go of one life and find another. And now I feel, with a strange, deep certainty, that it must be my lot in life to be taught that lesson over and over again.”
“My heart is shattered, an all that's left are jagged shards.”
“For years I'd understood that publishing in paperback was the kiss of death.”
“You have to try to take what life throws at you with grace and equanimity.”
“I ... am left with the lingering feeling that the places we go in our minds to find comfort have little to do with where our bodies go.”
“My mother was one of the most dynamic and brilliant women I have ever known. She was also mercurial and unfocused.”
“Most people are remarkably resilient. Even those who have been through war or great loss often find reservoirs of strength. But the legacy of trauma is a heavy burden to bear.”
“In my ideal world, my next novel would have a first printing of, say, 2,500 hardcovers for reviewers, libraries, collectors, and autograph hounds. The publisher could print more copies if they get low. And simultaneously, or six weeks later, the book would be available in paperback.”
“I've come to think that's what heaven is - a place in the memory of others where our best selves live on." ,”