I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was a good debut novel for me to have published. I was 26 or 27 when it…

Quote by John Irving

Topics: John Irving Quotes

You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes....

You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes....

Sometimes that's a year, sometimes it's 18 months, where all I'm doing is taking notes....

Sometimes that's a year, sometimes it's 18 months, where all I'm doing is taking notes....

I take people very seriously. People are all I take seriously, in fact. Therefore, I...

I take people very seriously. People are all I take seriously, in fact. Therefore, I...

Good habits are worth being fanatical about.

Good habits are worth being fanatical about.

I take people very seriously. People are all I take seriously, in fact. Therefore, I...

I take people very seriously. People are all I take seriously, in fact. Therefore, I...

And I find - I'm 63, and my capacity to be by myself and just...

And I find - I'm 63, and my capacity to be by myself and just...

There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep.

There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep.

And I don't want to begin something, I don't want to write that first sentence...

And I don't want to begin something, I don't want to write that first sentence...

You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.

You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.

There's no reason you should write any novel quickly.

There's no reason you should write any novel quickly.

The building of the architecture of a novel - the craft of it - is...

The building of the architecture of a novel - the craft of it - is...

You can't learn everything you need to know legally.

You can't learn everything you need to know legally.

I suppose I'm proudest of my novels for what's imagined in them. I think the...

I suppose I'm proudest of my novels for what's imagined in them. I think the...

More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer...

More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer...

I've always been a fan of the 19th century novel, of the novel that is...

I've always been a fan of the 19th century novel, of the novel that is...

There's no reason you shouldn't, as a writer, not be aware of the necessity to...

There's no reason you shouldn't, as a writer, not be aware of the necessity to...

Writing a novel is actually searching for victims. As I write I keep looking for...

Writing a novel is actually searching for victims. As I write I keep looking for...

I have pretty thick skin, and I think if you're going to be in this...

I have pretty thick skin, and I think if you're going to be in this...

When I was still in prep school - 14, 15 - I started keeping notebooks,...

When I was still in prep school - 14, 15 - I started keeping notebooks,...

You don't want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior...

You don't want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior...