Quotes from Jenny Colgan

Traumatized children?" mused Ramsay. "When we read the boys 'The Snow Queen,' Patrick put all our glasses in the bin in case he broke one and got a bit in his eye.

Because life is like that, isn't it? If you thought of all the tiny things that divert your path one way or another, some good, some bad, you'd never do anything ever again. And some people don't. Some people go through life not really deciding to do much, not wanting to, always too fearful of the consequences to try something new. Of course, that in itself is also a decision. You'll get somewhere whether you put any effort into it or not.

I think love is caramel. Sweet and fragrant, always welcome. It is the gentle golden color of a setting harvest sun; the warmth of a squeezed embrace; the easy melting of two souls into one; and a taste that lingers even when everything else has melted away. Once tasted, it is never forgotten. And that is all I have to say about that.

But doing something new is so hard. And a few things can help.

Please let me clear this up once and for all: 'Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get' is a quotation of the highest nonsense. Every box of chocolates comes with a handy and clear pictogram relating the shape of the chocolate to its flavour. Also a box of chocolates is always welcome and delicious. Life is in fact like a bag of Revels. You never know what you're going to get, and half of it you won't like.

I have a head for business and a body for sin. Unfortunately, the sin appears to be gluttony.

Just do something. You might make a mistake, then you can fix it. But if you do nothing, you can't fix anything. And your life might turn out full of regrets.

Because every day with a book is slightly better than one without, and I wish you nothing but the happiest of days.

We'd even devised the Buffy scale of life relationships: you start off wanting Xander, spend your twenties going out with Spike and setttle down with giles.

There was a universe inside every human being every bit as big as the universe outside them. Books were the best way Nina knew - apart from, sometimes, music - to breach the barrier, to connect the internal universe with the external, the words acting merely as a conduit between the two worlds.

I am of the old-fashioned conviction that reading is a pleasure to be carefully guarded at all times

Life was always easier, reflected Issy, when you were carrying a large Tupperware full of cakes. Everyone was happy to see you then.

The problem with good things that happen is that very often they disguise themselves as awful things.

I think love is caramel. Sweet and fragant; always welcome. It is the gentle golden colour of a setting harvest sun; the warmth of a squeezed embrace; the easy melting of two souls into one and a taste that lingers even when everything else has melted away. Once tasted it is never forgotten.

Because every day with a book is slightly better than one without, and I wish you nothing but the happiest of days. Now

Baking is...Life. So when you describe what you're making, you must describe life. Do you see? It's not just recipes..

Books had been her solace when she was sad, her friends when she was lonely. They had mended her heart when it was broken, and encouraged her to hope when she was down.

Books were the best way Nina knew – apart from, sometimes, music – to breach the barrier; to connect the internal universe with the external, the words acting merely as a conduit between the two worlds.

Because life is like that, isn't it? If you thought of all the tiny things that divert your path one way or another, some good, some bad, you'd never do anything ever again. And some people don't. Some people go through life not really deciding to do much, not wanting to, always too fearful of the consequences to try something new. Of course, that in itself is also a decision.

hiraeth (n): a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home that maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for lost places in your past

Dogs are tremendously good at showing you you don't have to check your phone every two seconds to have a happy life.

Anything that spreads books and brings about more books, I would say it is good. Good medicine, not bad.

I never understand," he said, shaking his head, "why anyone would go to the trouble of making up new people in this world when there's already billions of the buggers I don't give a shit about.

once when this woman was going on and on about how she would never read on download, that there was nothing like a real book and – I promise I normally am never rude to people but she was being truly insufferable – I said, 'Well, they're really only for people who read a lot' which was mean of me but quite satisfying also.