We need to actually teach kids that books aren't like broccoli. You don't have to eat every bit on your plate. It's like secret adult's business. It's the secret we never, ever tell our children. No adult ever read a book because it's good for us. We read because it is fun.

For me books have always been an incredibly solid part of my life, both as escapism and simply as resource.

I might be able to find out what happened 6,000 years ago but I will never know what happens 6,000 years in the future! And that is not fair, blast it.

Often the true hero and heroines of my books are the houses, the places, the communities where people find a home.

I don't read like other people do - back and forth, across the page. I tend to scan a page at a time.

Dance, my darling dance! If you dance then death can't catch you! Nothing bad can touch you! Dance!

When someone is missing the really hard thing is that you never really do give up hope, even though the inquest says that she is dead, even though right from the beginning we already knew that we wouldn't see her again.