People who live entirely by the fertility of their imaginations are fascinating, brilliant and often charming, but they should be sat next to at dinner parties, not lived with.

Some people are oil and water.

When the bell rings, and lunch is over, I decide to come back here tomorrow, and the next day. I tell myself it really isn’t that bad.

The seeds of happiness can grow from one thought, one idea, one simple change in focus.

Writin’ Is Fightin'!

Set your business plan to win raise the bar or you're not going to be prepared. You need to think that what you're doing will make you $100 million.

We write to find out what we didn’t know we knew. We write to know deeper and truer. We write to connect the dots: a whole new constellation.

Never be bored, and you will never be boring.

Homologue. The same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function.

We all have our la-la-la song. The thing we do when the world isn't singing a nice tune to us. We sing our own nice tune to drown out ugly.

Emma Rothschild's magnificently researched and lucidly written book reveals the many connections and layers of empire without in any way undermining the less edifying aspects of empire.