People don't settle for people. They resolve to be with them. It takes faith. You draw a circle in the sand and agree to stand in it and believe in it.

- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki had dreaded having girls: she knew she wouldn't be able to protect them from self-disgust.

English fiction was something I loved growing up, and it changed my life - it changed the trajectory of my life.

Don't we all know why nerds do what they do? To get money, which leads to popularity, which leads to girls.

The really heroic thing about Nick Hornby is that he lives in north London and rarely leaves it... Every English writer needs their corner that is forever England - but only a few brave men choose to make that corner Highbury.

Make sure the lubricant is unscented. Don't join fashionable 'schools of thought.' Read everything.

World makers, social network makers, ask one question first: 'How can I do it?'