She read and read and read, but she was stuffing herself with the letters on the page like an unhappy child stuffing itself with chocolate. They didn’t taste bad, but she was still unhappy.

I'm perfectly happy to know the world at secondhand. It's a lot safer.

The sea always filled her with longing, though for what she was never sure.

Read – and be curious. And if somebody says to you: 'Things are this way. You can't change it' - don't believe a word.

Every book should begin with attractive endpapers. Preferably in a dark colour: dark red or dark blue, depending on the binding. When you open the book it's like going to the theatre. First you see the curtain. Then it's pulled aside and the show begins.

I always wanted to ride a dragon myself, so I decided to do this for a year in my imagination.

The book she had been reading was under her pillow, pressing its cover against her ear as if to lure her back into its printed pages.