Kevin McCloud

I spend a frightening amount of money on books.

I like the absurd and the surreal: the Coen brothers, Bunuel, Kubrick.

I'm driven by issues, not driven to be political.

It's good to like yourself, and that only comes from hard work, from doing. But vanity is dangerous; it can trip you badly.

Well, I actually wrote her a letter a couple of days ago congratulating her. The tone I tried to convey in the letter is, look, you are a part of a great American historical process.

You have to have really wide reading habits and pay attention to the news and just everything that's going on in the world: you need to. If you get this right, then the writing is a piece of cake.