I'm a big fan of the digestive system.

For some time now, I have been encouraging people to ask themselves why things look the way they do.

Occasionally, I just need to escape from my work or be reminded of the comparative bliss of my own life, so I pick up a novel.

Making books is hard work. Some books are, of course, more demanding than others.

I went back to the notion of story, which is always a good thing to have if you're trying to get people to pay attention to a book and pick up information along the way.

If you are lucky enough to be successful, you get drawn further in and you stop paying attention to the stuff that matters.

A circle's unity and never ending smoothness is how we can aim to feel inside. Smooth, gentle, accepted, no rough edges, only love for all parts of our selves.

Everyone carries a burden. Only the weight differs.

The best doctor gives the least medicines.

I know I can handle dramatic roles, but I don't think I should have to play a young mother on crack to prove it.

Already he was a very different hobbit from the one that had run out without a pocket-handkerchief from Bag-End long ago. He had not had a pocket-handkerchief for ages.

Sudden a thought came like a full-blown rose, Flushing his brow.

Where is the money going to come from? From wherever it is at the moment.

What is deservedly suffered must be borne with calmness, but when the pain is unmerited, the grief is resistless.

They teach you how to handle life in England, but they don’t teach you a thing about death. There’s no book telling you what to do when your mum or dad dies.

There's no point trying to sugar-coat this or get Jesuitical about it. Yes, Russia tried to manipulate our election. It's appalling. Yes, it should be investigated and taken seriously.