...she felt about reading what some writers felt about writing: that it was impossible not to do it and that at this late stage of her life she had been chosen to read as others were chosen to write.

So boring you fall asleep halfway through her name.

The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not. All readers were equal, herself included. Literature, she thought, is a commonwealth; letters a republic.

No mention of God. They keep Him up their sleeves for as long as they can, vicars do. They know it puts people off.

I'm all in favour of free expression provided it's kept rigidly under control.

Your whole life is on the other side of the glass. And there is nobody watching.

You always know when you're going to arrive. If you go by car, you don't. Apart from anything else, I prefer cycling. It puts you in a good mood, I find.