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1 " Does that mean that if a man opens a woman's fiction book, all the words will slide off the page in a swoon, or flutter a fan and scamper away in horror? Or perhaps the book will explode to ensure no manly eye can read what he's not supposed to? "
― Amanda James , The Calico Cat
2 " I mean, can you tell me why we don't have a section in bookshops called men's fiction? "
3 " Being different was good, I liked it and I wouldn't change myself for anyone. Not ever. "
4 " Most people actively try to bury their differences and become like everyone else for fear of ridicule. They want to belong. They want to 'fit in'. They don't like to be singled out, have their differences scrutinised, put on microscope slides or in Petri dishes and poked by society. I on the other hand, rejoice in it. I don't want to belong if it means having to wrestle your individuality into a small space, paint it grey and make it... normal. "
5 " No matter how much you're enjoying your own life, when finding out about someone else's, you unexpectedly feel like theirs is more interesting. "
6 " Pain and sorrow make up a person's character, not just the happiness and laughter. "
7 " I think sometimes the more people you tell about a deep feeling, the shallower it becomes. "
8 " Why do we think as a society it's okay to describe people as if they are pieces of meat? Surely our personalities and souls are more important than physical attributes? "
9 " Other people's backgrounds and life stories don't really mean and awful lot to anyone but those people, do they? Not really. Of course, you can empathise and sympathise if necessary, but it's not your life, so you can't know what it was actually like for them. "
10 " How did you choose which country to be born into? Did you look at a map, or what? "
11 " It was different for me because of my gender. "
12 " I think as a general rule people don't think or question enough. This leaves their brain more susceptible to the relentless dumbing-down process of the media and the desire of an individual to escape from the pressures of everyday life by drinking alcohol and watching mind-numbing 'reality' shows, soaps or perhaps endless sport. "
