"I have assiduously avoided calling my books novels."

"I think all writing is done through memory."

"I think that I've tried many times to get Cuba in my writings, especially Havana, which was once a great and fascinating city."

"My parents were founders of the Cuban Communist Party, and I grew up extremely poor."

"I respect people who feel things passionately. I do. But when someone is a judge, that is not what they should bring to the bench. It is not really passion, except in rare instances, that serves the bench well. It is, rather, an ability to understand the law and follow it."

"There's an adage that is an apt description of the new dynamic at work between brands and consumers connected through social media: People support what they help to build. But now that many brands are launching community-driven cause marketing campaigns, the challenge becomes what to do next?"

"I do know where I'm going and it's just a matter of finding the language to get there."

"Yes, America must do the right thing, but to provide moral leadership, America must do it in the right way, too."