I think people believe in heaven because they don't like the idea of dying, because they want to carry on living and they don't like the idea that other people will move into their house and put their things into the rubbish.

Most adults, unlike most children, understand the difference between a book that will hold them spellbound for a rainy Sunday afternoon and a book that will put them in touch with a part of themselves they didn't even know existed.

I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.

Being clever was when you looked at how things were and used the evidence to work out something new.

Family, that slippery word, a star to every wandering bark, and everyone sailing under a different sky.

If you enjoy math and you write novels, it's very rare that you'll get a chance to put your math into a novel. I leapt at the chance.

Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens as well.