‎He often envied people who hadn't read his favourite books. They had such happiness before them.

When you became a student at Oxford you realized both your own mortality, in the flow of this near-millennium of students, and also the small particle of immortality that attaches to you when you begin to belong to an immortal place.

I'm always jealous of people in the fashion business, especially women. I always feel like they look so light and chic. They figure out how to wear the minimal sort of outfit, whether it be the Prada uniform or a T-shirt with perfect-fitting Levi's and Birkenstocks.

It had been a perfect nap - the sort a man runs into now and again by chance.

Are you going to give a speech?' she asked gaily. He gave a choked laugh. 'Of course not,' he said. 'Not for ages.' 'My cousin Davey gave one on his very first day!' ... 'In the Lords, I remember. It was about how he didn't like strawberry jam.' 'Be nice, Charles! It was a speech about fruit importation, which I admit devolved into something of a tirade.' She couldn't help but laugh. 'Still, you could talk about something more important.' 'Than jam? Impossible. We mustn't set the bar too high, Jane.

Like everyone I slipped into adulthood like a delinquent through the back door.

‎He often envied people who hadn't read his favourite books. They had such happiness before them.