To look at the paper is to raise a seashell to one's ear and to be overwhelmed by the roar of humanity.

I learnt to stop fantasising about the perfect job or the perfect relationship because that can actually be an excuse for not living.

The only way to be happy is to realise how much depends on how you look at things

Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you? Everyone loves strength, but do you love me for my weakness? That is the real test.

In Britain, because I live here, I can also run into problems of envy and competition. But all this is just in a day's work for a writer. You can't put stuff out there without someone calling you a complete fool. Oh, well.

It is in dialogue with pain that many beautiful things acquire their value. Acquaintance with grief turns out to be one of the more unusual prerequisites of architectural appreciation. We might, quite aside from all other requirements, need to be a little sad before buildings can properly touch us.

The arrogance that says analysing the relationship between reasons and causes is more important than writing a philosophy of shyness or sadness or friendship drives me nuts. I can't accept that.