Chicago happened slowly, like a migraine. First they were driving through countryside, then, imperceptibly, the occasional town became a low suburban sprawl, and the sprawl became the city.

Call no man happy, said Shadow, until he is dead

As a kid I would get my parents to drop me off at my local library on their way to work during the summer holidays and I would walk home at night. For several years I read the children's library until I finished the children's library. Then I moved into the adult library and slowly worked my way through them.

The only people I ever get irritated with are the ones who announce, using my Twitter handle, that they are no longer following me and why.

The past is always knocking at the door, trying to break through into today.

She was also an adult, and when adults fight children, adults always win.

Note for Americans and other aliens: Milton Keynes is a new city approximately halfway between London and Birmingham. It was built to be modern, efficient, healthy, and, all in all, a pleasant place to live. Many Britons find this amusing.