Every adult life could be said to be defined by two great love stories: the story of our quest for sexual love and the story of our quest for love from the world.

Curiosity takes ignorance seriously - and is confident enough to admit when it's in the dark. It is aware of not knowing. And then it sets out to do something about it.

The very act of drawing an object, however badly, swiftly takes the drawer from a woolly sense of what the object looks like to a precise awareness of its component parts and particularities.

I know a lot about writing, but I don't know much about how other industries work. I've tried to use my naivety to my advantage.

The study of maps and the perusal of travel books aroused in me a secret fascination that was at times almost irresistible.

One of love's greatest drawbacks is that, for a while at least, it is in danger of making us happy.

Being content is perhaps no less easy than playing the violin well: and requires no less practice.