Tom Robbins Quotes

A book isn't noise to drown out other noise.

It got so that when he closed his eyes, letters and words danced in his mind. He thought of little else during that time.

You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, "No, I don't want to watch TV!" Raise your voice -- they won't hear you otherwise -- "I'm reading! I don't want to be disturbed!" Maybe they haven't heard you, with all that racket; speak louder, yell: "I'm beginning to read Italo Calvino's new novel!" Or if you prefer, don't say anything: just hope they'll leave you alone.

And the process of reading is such a private one. I once came into a room where a friend of mine was reading one of my books, and he clicked his tongue impatiently and shooed me off.

Real reading is a lonely activity.

I don't really listen to music when I work. I really have to focus on one thing at a time. I like a lot of quiet and peace when I'm working or when I'm thinking or when I'm reading.

There's always a fine line between being too focused and missing opportunities, or being too wide and taking on too many.

When I'm writing, I'm in an isolation chamber. I'm not one to think about that outside world stuff when I'm writing.

Silence and solitude are more distracting to me than chatter and commotion.

Composing demands a degree of isolation.

I can't write if someone else is in the house, not even the cleaning woman.

Human language... prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand.

I love a Hebrew National hot dog with an ice-cold Corona - no lime. If the phone rings, I won't answer until I'm done.

I'll read pretty much anywhere and anytime, but for a while now, I've really enjoyed reading on flights, especially the longer hauls, when I'm unplugged from everything and can completely immerse myself in the world of a book and submit happily to its rhythms, perspectives, ideas.

Intellectual work is essentially a lonely process, and if you can find a way of doing something so that you're in company without being disturbed, that, for me, is the critical thing. I often get to feel isolated so often if I'm sitting either where there aren't people or isn't a view.

You cannot be creative with people around you.

Writing is a very lonely occupation. To write you need to concentrate, to concentrate you need to lock yourself away. No distractions; you want your stream of thought uninterrupted.

Any distraction tends to get in the way of being an effective gangster.

The age in which we live, this non-stop distraction, is making it more impossible for the young generation to ever have the curiosity or discipline... because you need to be alone to find out anything.

I write in a noisy, distracting world so the books can be read there.

As soon as you start figuring out what you're going to do, something will interrupt it.

When you don't have an interruption, there's a flow, so it's easier to memorize. Monologues are easier to memorize than dialogue.

Look at this generation, with all of its electronic devices and multitasking. I will confidently predict less success than Warren, who just focused on reading.

It's super easy to do what Conor does. He earned something. Then, he looks over the fence - he looks for something new - and it's very easy to be motivated for something new.

I'm a firm believer when I'm doing my job to not want anybody around.