So in many ways, the bombing at the end of this year and the terrorist attack of last year in Peshawar have bookended both those years in a very unfortunate way. But at a bigger picture since, the impression in Pakistan is that things are actually improving on the terrorism front quite dramatically.

You're never rude,' she said, smiling, 'and I think it's good to be touchy sometimes. It means you care.

The ban on the burkini, which is basically a wetsuit, seems particularly ridiculous.

Literature helps us transcend ourselves.

You're a watchful guy. you know where that comes from?" I shook my head. "It comes from feeling out of place," he said. "Believe me. I know.

I responded to the gravity of an invisible moon at my core, and I undertook journeys I had not expected to take.

I believe one can gauge a book's impact only after about 10 years.