We belabour, I think, under a very heavy crust of consumerism really

Its unfortunate and I really wish I wouldn't have to say this, but I really like human beings who have suffered. They're kinder.

Being disabled should not mean being disqualified from having access to every aspect of life.

I think books are like people, in the sense that they'll turn up in your life when you most need them.

I hate the way market forces try to separate us out in to the appropriate demographic - basically in order to sell us things. We need to find stories that we can enjoy together, not separately.

Any problem, big or small, within a family, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn't listening.

I was brought up by very witty people who were dealing with quite difficult things: disease and death... I was brought up by people who tended to giggle at funerals.

Maybe I don't take myself so seriously any more. And I don't care how I'm judged. I'm past all that.

You can't imagine what satisfaction can be gotten from throwing a pie into someone's face.

When husbands and fathers leave, their wives and daughters tend to value themselves less as a result.

During an election, it's like they're doing my job: they're going around banging the drum for their party and selling their movie. You know, it's the same thing.

I'll try anything. I'll do anything. I'll explore. Try different takes.

The thing with high-tech is that you always end up using scissors.

I think we need to grow in our self-assurance that is not scared of being challenged, that the truth we uphold can stand up to the closest possible scrutiny.

Many of the traits that make Amazon unusual are now deeply ingrained in the culture. In fact, if I wanted to change them, I couldn't. The cultures are self-reinforcing, and that's a good thing.

I think brutal honesty is extremely important. Don't be afraid of being up-front about your feelings and your life. I'd rather be an honest friend than a phony lover.

I can't even remember how many times I tried to kill myself

Music is neither old nor modern: it is either good or bad music, and the date at which it was written has no significance whatever.

A lot of the lyrical ideas do have a lot of meaning in a way, although it is somewhat abstracted.

It takes 150 years to build an investment bank and only five minutes to convince you to sell me preferred stock in it at a 10% interest rate.

I must say that, on the whole, I prefer fiction to poetry.