A savage review is much more entertaining for the reader than an admiring one; the little misanthrope in each of us relishes the rubbishing of someone else.
From Arthur Smith
About every four years, someone says to me, 'I've got a friend who looks exactly like you.' What can you say to this?
It is more interesting to be compared to someone famous, because it lets you gauge what perceptions people have about your appearance.
My sister-in-law believes that few narratives are so tightly constructed that you can't skip boring bits and still keep abreast of what's going on.
Listening to Chris Moyles on Radio 1 is the most miserable thing any human being can do, but attending awards ceremonies isn't far behind.
When they meet a stand-up comic, people sometimes remark: 'That must be the hardest job in the world.' Among comedians, only Freddie Starr is not embarrassed and slightly appalled by this remark.
I myself am pathetically impressed when I meet writers of very long novels. How can they spend so many hundreds of hours at the miserable, lonely pastime of creating fiction?
The book may be garbage, but if it weighs in at a kilo or more, I stand before its author in awe.
Sometimes it's bad to do something you've never done before.
Occasionally I find a travel book that is both illuminating and entertaining, where vivid writing and research replace self-indulgence and sloppy prose.
7 perspectives
5 perspectives
4 perspectives
1 perspectives