“If somebody’s trying to shut you up, sing louder, and if possible, better.”

Ignorantly is how we all fall in love; for it is a kind of fall. Closing our eyes, we leap from that cliff in hope of a soft landing. Nor is it always soft; but still, without that leap nobody comes to life.

He knew what he knew: that the real world was full of magic, so magical worlds could easily be real.

You can find shame in every house, burning in an ashtray, hanging framed upon a wall, covering a bed. But nobody notices it any more.

To understand just one life you have to swallow the world do you wonder, then, that I was a heavy child?

Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart.

The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.

It seems that the right of freedom of speech that was enshrined in numerous constitutions is now under attack by religious institutions.

Once you put a thought into the world, it can be disagreed with, but it can’t be unthought.

We all owe death a life.

What I do think is evident is that those countries in the world where Islamic extremism has recovered the most power, those are also the countries which are most disliked.

Religion is responsible for a lot of the problems in the history of the world and it’s not something that I practice or recommend, but to each his own.

But there’s one thing we must all be clear about: terrorism is not the pursuit of legitimate goals by some sort of illegitimate means. Whatever the murderers may be trying to achieve, creating a better world certainly isn’t one of their goals. Instead they are out to murder innocent people.

My horizon’s have shrunk and I have only endings to write.

Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms. This religious totalitarianism has caused a deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today.

Language is courage: the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.

I didn’t become a writer to write about me.

Fantasy love is much better than Reality Love.

Filthy language is used by people who don’t have the maturity or intelligence to express themselves with better words.

After a life time of being tempted by doubts, I must tell you, it feels far better to be wooed by hope.

I hope you are reading to your children, out loud. That’s much better than watching television, much better. They won’t get very much out of television except some bad thoughts.

Strategy is about setting yourself apart from the competition. It’s not a matter of being better at what you do – it’s a matter of being different at what you do.

We are all one. Ours is not a better way, ours is merely another way.

If I know better than you know what I am up to, it is only because I spend more time with myself than you do.

A good marriage is where both people feel like they’re getting the better end of the deal.