760 Quotes by John Updike

A computer and a cat are somewhat alike - they both purr, and like to be stroked, and spend a lot of the day motionless. They also have secrets they don't necessarily share.

One of the cool, chaste countries - Canada or Sweden.

Writing doesn't require drive. It's like saying a chicken has to have drive to lay an egg.

American art in general... takes to surreal exaggerations and metaphors; but its Puritan work ethic has little use for the playful self-indulgence behind Parisian Surrealism.

Is not the decisive difference between comedy and tragedy that tragedy denies us another chance?

One of the nice things about having a lover, it makes you think about everything anew. The rest of your life becomes a kind of movie, flat and even rather funny.

My actinic keratosis is a result of the triumphalism of the beach. The sun exacerbates it.

Money is like water in a leaky bucket: no sooner there, it begins to drip.

Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.