Book and reader, if they meet up at the right moment, it can make sparks fly, set you alight, change your life. It can, I promise you.

La culture, c’est un effort permanent de l’être pour échapper à sa vile condition de primate sous-civilisé.

That’s what sofas are for: sit down, drink a cup of tea, talk of literature. At least that’s how I see it.

To know your way round a library is to master the whole of culture, i.e. the whole world.

I prefer the company of books. When I’m reading, I’m never alone, I have a conversation with the book. It can be very intimate. Perhaps you know this feeling yourself? The sense that you’re having...