You write a book and you hope somebody will go out and pay $24.95 for what you've just said. I think books were my salvation. Books saved me from being miserable.

Quote by Amy Tan

Topics: Amy Tan Quotes

I learned to forgive myself, and that enabled me to forgive my mother as a...

I learned to forgive myself, and that enabled me to forgive my mother as a...

I read a book a day when I was a kid. My family was not...

I read a book a day when I was a kid. My family was not...

I would still like to have that luxury, to be able to just sit and...

I would still like to have that luxury, to be able to just sit and...

Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up...

Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up...

I started a second novel seven times and I had to throw them away.

I started a second novel seven times and I had to throw them away.

My mother had a very difficult childhood, having seen her own mother kill herself. So...

My mother had a very difficult childhood, having seen her own mother kill herself. So...

I am like a falling star who has finally found her place next to another...

I am like a falling star who has finally found her place next to another...

God, life changes faster than you think.

God, life changes faster than you think.

I thought I was clever enough to write as well as these people and I...

I thought I was clever enough to write as well as these people and I...

No one in my family was a reader of literary fiction. So, I didn't have...

No one in my family was a reader of literary fiction. So, I didn't have...

I saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You...

I saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You...

Language is the tool of my trade -and I use them all - all the...

Language is the tool of my trade -and I use them all - all the...

I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the...

I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the...

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

It's both rebellion and conformity that attack you with success.

It's both rebellion and conformity that attack you with success.

I also thought of playing improvisational jazz and I did take lessons for a while....

I also thought of playing improvisational jazz and I did take lessons for a while....

Placing on writers the responsibility to represent a culture is an onerous burden.

Placing on writers the responsibility to represent a culture is an onerous burden.

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing...

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing...

That was a wonderful period in my life. I mean, I didn't become an artist,...

That was a wonderful period in my life. I mean, I didn't become an artist,...

I was intelligent enough to make up my own mind. I not only had freedom...

I was intelligent enough to make up my own mind. I not only had freedom...