Marriage is the gold standard of all relationships. It's the currency by which everything is valued.

As an arts journalist in London, working mainly for the BBC, I interviewed hundreds if not thousands of authors. From them I gleaned a great deal of passing instruction in writing and I observed one fascinating detail: no two writers approach their work - physically - in the same way.

The human face does not always reflect the beauty that may repose in the soul.

There are some places you love with your heart, and there are some places that you love with your mind- the places that you love with both are called 'libraries'

The one joy that has kept me going through life has been the fact that stories unite us. To see you as you listen to me now, as you have always listened to me, is to know this: what I can believe, you can believe. And the way we all see our story-not just as Irish people but as flesh and blood individuals and not the way people tell us to see it-that's what we own, no matter who we are and where we come from.

Do you know what the difference is between Friendship and Love? Friendship is the photograph, Love is the oil painting.

Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.