All tours are filled with humiliation. My publisher once hired a private jet to fly me to a venue where 1,000 people were waiting. It almost bankrupted him. Alain de Botton
It's very hard to respect people on holiday - everybody looks so silly at the beach, it makes you hate humanity - but when you see people at their work they elicit respect, whether it's a mechanic, a stonemason or an accountant. Alain de Botton
I waste most of the day, then finally start to write around 3 P.M., totally disgusted with myself for my wasteful nature. Alain de Botton
I know a lot about writing, but I don't know much about how other industries work. I've tried to use my naivety to my advantage. Alain de Botton
I assemble my ideas in pieces on a computer file, then gradually find a place for them on a piece of scaffolding I erect. Alain de Botton
When I see someone like Richard Dawkins, I see my father. I grew up with that. I'm basically the child of Richard Dawkins. Alain de Botton
I was uncomfortable writing fiction. My love was the personal essay, rather than the novel. Alain de Botton
I learnt to stop fantasising about the perfect job or the perfect relationship because that can actually be an excuse for not living. Alain de Botton
Pick up any newspaper or magazine, open the TV, and you'll be bombarded with suggestions of how to have a successful life. Some of these suggestions are deeply unhelpful to our own projects and priorities - and we should take care. Alain de Botton
Booksellers are the most valuable destination for the lonely, given the numbers of books that were written because authors couldn't find anyone to talk to. Alain de Botton
Many moments in religion seem attractive to me even though I can't believe in any of it. Alain de Botton
I was a very un-literary child, which might reassure parents with kids who don't read. Alain de Botton
I keep a picture of my beloved children close by. Also, water and plenty of pads and pens. Alain de Botton
On paper, being good sounds great but a lot depends on the atmosphere of the workplace or community we live in. We tend to become good or bad depending on the cues sent out within a particular space. Alain de Botton
Kant and Hegel are interesting thinkers. But I am happy to insist that they are also terrible writers. Alain de Botton
We are certainly influenced by role models, and if we are surrounded by images of beautiful rich people, we will start to think that to be beautiful and rich is very important - just as in the Middle Ages, people were surrounded by images of religious piety. Alain de Botton
It's clear to me that there is no good reason for many philosophy books to sound as complicated as they do. Alain de Botton
I'm also interested in the modern suggestion that you can have a combination of love and sex in a marriage - which no previous society has ever believed. Alain de Botton
I went to church and couldn't swallow it. The music was nice but I don't belong there. Alain de Botton