One of the very best reasons for having children is to be reminded of the incomparable joys of a snow day.

- Susan Orlean

The old orchid hunter lay back on his pillow, his body limp... 'You'll curse the insects,' he said at least, 'and you'll curse the natives... The sun…

- Susan Orlean

I'm happy to be reminded that an ordinary day full of nothing but nothingness can make you feel like you've won the lottery.

- Susan Orlean

I wish I had coined the phrase 'tyranny of choice,' but someone beat me to it. The counterintuitive truth is that have an abundance of options does n…

- Susan Orlean

There's a marvelous sense of mastery that comes with writing a sentence that sounds exactly as you want it to.

- Susan Orlean

Libraries are what is best about us as a society: open, exciting, rich, informative, free, inclusive, engaging.

- Susan Orlean

You have to simply love writing, and you have to remind yourself often that you love it.

- Susan Orlean

An ordinary life examined closely reveals itself to be exquisite and complicated and exceptional, somehow managing to be both heroic and plain.

- Susan Orlean

Most writing doesn’t take place on the page; it takes place in your head.

- Susan Orlean