…she was discovering once again that reading and writing were not the same — you couldn't just soak it up then squeeze it out again.

Envy was just the tax you paid on success.

You know what i can't understand? You have all these people telling you all the time how great you are, smart and funny and talented and all that, i mean endlessly, i've been telling you for years. So why don't you believe it? why do you think people say that stuff, Em? Do you think it's a conspiracy, people secretly ganging up to be nice about you?

I work three days at home, and two days in the British Library or the London Library, just to get out of the house and hide from the children.

This might sound really foolish, but when I came to Edinburgh in 1988 I had spent nearly all my life living south of Bristol, and I was just amazed that a city like Edinburgh was actually in the British isles.

He wanted to live life in such a way that if a photograph were taken at random, it would be a cool photograph.

Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance