Alexander McCall Smith quotes - page 3

Talking about pumpkins doesn't make them grow. (Alexander McCall Smith)
It seems to me that we're in danger of losing sight of certain basic civic values in society by allowing the growth of a whole generation of people who really have no sense of attachment to society. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
Oh I love gadgets and I pride myself on keeping at the cutting edge of technology. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
As a writer, you have to realize that people want to like the characters, so you have to be careful to keep them involved. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
As a writer, I have readers who will have a range of political views. I don't think they look to me for political guidance. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
It was easy to be moral when that was the way you felt anyway. The hard bit about morality was making yourself feel the opposite of what you really felt. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
There was a distinction between lying and telling half-truths, but it was a very narrow one. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
Writers obviously have to bear witness to the harsh face of the age. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
I'm very interested in tea. I wouldn't mind being involved in some aspect of the tea industry. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
I just focus on getting the first scene right, with a few lines about the overall plot, and then the book grows organically. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
Botswana is actually very peaceful. It's democratic. It never was in debt. They've been fortunate, they've had diamonds. (Alexander McCall Smith)
I am capable of being idle. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
Who can't like pigs? They're wonderful creatures! I've always liked pigs. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
A very powerful theme in fiction is that of loss. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
Every novel presents a slice of life. A noir policier for example presents one slice, one that perhaps addresses social dysfunction or some sort of pathology, while mine present a slice that is more upbeat and affirmative. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
New York is a wonderful place to be up, an awful place to be down. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
Edinburgh used to be a haughty city. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
I have three older sisters, so we were a reasonably large family and, in general, a happy one. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
My parents were very supportive and always encouraged us. My father was a gentle, nice man. My mother was quite a colourful character and a keen reader who encouraged me to write. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
The Okavango Delta is an astonishing sight: the great Okavango River, rather than flow towards the sea, flows inland, into the sands of the Kalahari. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
Many of my books are written from a female perspective. I rather enjoy the take that women have on the world, and certainly I enjoy the conversations that women have. (Alexander McCall Smith)
My wife Elizabeth and I started The Really Terrible Orchestra for people like us who are pretty hopeless musicians who would like to play in an orchestra. It has been a great success. We give performances; weve become the most famous bad orchestra in the world. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
We find what we are looking for in life, her father had once said to her, which was true-if you look for happiness, you will see it; if you look for distrust and envy and hatred-all those things-you will find those too. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
Traditional Botswana men like ladies who are more traditionally shaped. You and I, Mma. We remind men of how things used to be in Botswana before these modern-shaped ladies started to get men all confused. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith
These men were like leeches; they sucked away at the goodness of a woman's heart until it was dry and all her love had been used up. That took a long time, he knew, because women seemed to have vast reservoirs of goodness in them. View quote
Alexander McCall Smith