Judy Blume
I can't relate to people who treat me as a 'famous person.' I only like to hang around with people who treat me as a regular person because that's what I am. All people are really just regular.
I can't see an autobiography in my future. But who knows what might happen.
I don't think it's realistic to say kids shouldn't watch any TV. I just wish the shows would be better. And that kids would watch less. Get out there and do things, kids! Don't become couch potatoes!
My father was the youngest of seven, and nobody lived to be 60. And so we were always sitting shiva in my house, and my father would say, 'Life goes on.'
When I was young, I loved a series of books by an author called Maud Hart Lovelace and the series, which is still around, I'm happy to say, is - they're the 'Betsy-Tacy' books.
When a parent comes into school waving a book and saying, 'Take this book away. I don't like this book.' I won't say in all cases, but in many cases, that will not happen anymore. It has to go through a proper review board. The complaining parent will have to fill out a complaint, you know, put it in writing.
I used to love getting on planes. I loved the packing and going places. Now I don't because I've developed these really bad sinuses. I have to take a prednisone to fly, but it works, and I'm OK.
I never thought I wanted to write about the '50s, because I thought it was the most boring and bland decade to grow up in, and I never wanted to go back there.
I'm an optimistic person, so I like to leave my readers with a sense of hopefulness.
We're supposed to be uncomfortable when we read something. That's how we learn.
I'm very good at setting goals and deadlines for myself, so I don't really need that from outside.
It embarrasses me to flaunt anything good written about me or my books. I don't know what we're supposed to do about that.
People need stories; they want stories. They always will.
You should always go through the first draft of a book all at once, I think, to get the best results. You can take time off after the first draft and come back to it fresh.
I am such a rewriter; I have so many notebooks filled with drafts you wouldn't believe.
In sixth grade, I made up books to give book reports on.
In 1970, somebody once asked me whether I thought my books would still be around in 40 years, and I thought, 'How would I know, and why would I care?' Well, it turns out I really do care.
Nobody ever asks me why my characters don't text each other. Besides, as soon as you put something 'electronic' in a book, it's already out of date by the time it's published: everything will have changed. Human emotion, on the other hand, will never change.
When I was growing up in the 1950s, sweaters were a huge thing.
I still have such a thing for leather jackets. I have a closet full of them, and my husband is always saying to me, 'Why do you need another jacket? You have plenty of jackets.'
When I'm writing, I'm never trying to teach anything - maybe I'm trying to illuminate.
I think the child I was until 12 was so much more interesting than the teenager I became.
Everything they say a girl should get from her father in terms of total acceptance and love, I got all that from my father. But then I married a man just like my mother - so phlegmatic.
How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives.Collection: Fear
our finger prints dont fade from the lives we touchCollection: Fingers
Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.Collection: Inspirational
Concentrate on how good if feels to be alive. No matter what. Just to see the color of the sky, just to smell the air, and feel the wind in your faceCollection: Air
Believe in yourself and you can achieve greatness in your life.Collection: Inspirational Life
Never give up! And remember, determination is as important as talent.Collection: Determination
My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell for help if you need it.Collection: Inspirational
Do not tell me what to do and do not tell me what I can't do.Collection: I Can
Books opened up a whole new world to me. Through them I discovered new ideas, traveled to new places, and met new people. Books helped me learn to understand other people and they taught me a lot about myself. ... Some books you never forget. Some characters become your friends for life.Collection: Book
Fear is often disguised as moral outrage.Collection: Censorship In Books
Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.Collection: Parent
Librarians save lives by handing the right book at the right time to a kid in need.Collection: Book
We are friends for life. When we’re together the years fall away. Isn’t that what matters? To have someone who can remember with you? To have someone who remembers how far you’ve come?Collection: Fall
You've got to enjoy whatever you can and forget about the rest.Collection: Forgiveness
The truth will make you odd.Collection: Truth
But if you aren't any religion, how are you going to know if you should join the Y or the Jewish Community Center?Collection: Community
Do not let anyone discourage you. If they try: get determined, not depressed.Collection: Trying
A library is where you meet fascinating characters you never forget.Collection: Character
I was Little Miss Perfect. That's where all the secrets come in, because you know damn well you are not perfect, but you think your parents want you to be. And so you pretend.Collection: Thinking
Determination and hard work are as important as talent.Collection: Determination
A person without curiosity may as well be dead.Collection: Curiosity
Things change…things happen…things you can’t even imagine when you’re young and full of hope.Collection: Things Change
A lot of people worry much too much about what their children are reading... If a child picks up a book and reads something she has a question about, if she can go to her parents, great. Or else they will read right over it. It won't mean a thing. They are very good, I think, at monitoring what makes them feel uncomfortable. If something makes them feel uncomfortable they will put it down.Collection: Children
I love picture books. I think some of the best people in children's books are the ones who create their own picture books. I wish I could say I'm one of them, but I'm not.Collection: Children
I am certainly a fearful person, but fearless in my writing. So there's that other person inside.Collection: Writing
I was sick all the time, one exotic illness after another, which lasted throughout my twenties. My worst decade. But from the day the first book was accepted, I never got sick again. Writing changed my life.Collection: Book