Russian humor is to adapt or make some sense or nonsense out of the insanity of their lives..

I don't have a disregard for my reader in humor pieces..

Everything in Russia is made of cement - phone booths, fence posts and light bulbs..

Every once in a while, people need to be in the presence of things that are really far away..

When I needed to think or was really upset, generally I climbed a tree..

Roy Blount is so funny, and he sounds like he's just talking, and the next thing you know he has tossed off an essay as elegant and intricately str….

I think what is important for things to be funny is if you the listener, or the reader, get a chance to supply the humor of it yourself..

Leading economists have shown that by shrinking Texas, we can actually create more income for Texas in the long run..

There's an idea of the Plains as the middle of nowhere, something to be contemptuous of. But it's really a heroic place..

A book tour is not a good opportunity to let your mind wander. You have to pay attention, remember salespeople's and interviewers' names, succinctly ….

Words are charms. It's like a song you didn't even know you knew..

I don't want to collect Indian art, though pots and beadwork and blankets made by Indians remain the most beautiful art objects in the American West,….

I only saw one English-speaking person all the way across Siberia..

Russians don't complain, usually..

When the days start to get shorter, I want to be in some nice brick building on the East Coast with the lights glowing in the windows. When the dayli….

Human connection is the way things work. It's like a patronage system. You know somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows ….

I don't want to participate in traditional Indian religious ceremonies - dance in a sun dance or pray in a sweat lodge or go on a vision quest with t….

Sometimes travel is merely an opportunity taken when you can..

Despite the obvious benefits, many Americans do not like Texas. Some even say they despise Texas, and make no secret of their feelings..

People in Russia adapt to misery by a deep, deep humor..

Cursing dads are terrifying, you know? Cursing dads are - I don't know why, but no. It just doesn't seem to me that that would be funny. I mean it mi….