You know people are always putting Ulysses in the top 10 books ever written but I doubt that any of those people were really moved by it.

She's a pot-of-tea-before-I-say-boo-to-you woman. There's always a pile of warm teabags in the sink when I come down, like what a horse would leave behind.

I see people in terms of dialogue and I believe that people are their talk.

It was a sign of growing up, when the dark made no more difference to you than the day.

I'm going to sound like an old man but at my age, it's lovely doing something that you've never done before.

If there is a heaven, Jane Austen is sitting in a small room with Mother Teresa and Princess Diana, listening to Duran Duran, forever. If there's a hell, she's standing.

Do not place a photograph of your favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide.