All tastes are expressions of belief.

You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality.

As far as I'm concerned, if you want to find out about the last day of WWII or the roots of the Indian Mutiny, get thee to a books catalogue.

The past is always tense, the future perfect.

Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.

Every moment happens twice: inside and outside, and they are two different histories.

Don’t romanticise your ‘vocation’. You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no ‘writer’s lifestyle’. All that matters is what you leave on the page.

Time is how you spend your love.

I am the sole author of the dictionary that defines me.

Don't confuse honours with achievement.

Pulchritude--beauty where you would least suspect it, hidden in a word that looked like it should signify a belch or a skin infection.

Life is a predicament which precedes death.

Was I a fool to believe in fate or in some destined illusionary path? I don't know. But we all need something to believe in.

The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.

They say the breaks even up in the long run, and the trick is to be a long-distance runner.

Some friendships are formed by a commonality of interests and ideas: you both love judo or camping or making your own sausage. Other friendships are forged in alliance against a common enemy.

One of the major ingredients for professional success in science is luck. Without this, forget it.

The rights of copyright holders need to be protected, but some draconian remedies that have been suggested would create more problems than they would solve.

Wherever there is power there is age.

I just don't know how to deal with so many people giving me that much affection. I never had that in my life.