I started writing books for children because I could illustrate them myself and because, in my innocence, I thought they'd be easier. Mark Haddon bookchildeasy Change image and share on social
I am atheist in a very religious mould. I'm always asking myself the big questions. Where did we come from? Is there a meaning to all of this? When I find myself in church, I edit the hymns as I sing them. Mark Haddon atheistbigchurch share on social
I think I've learnt that there is no character so strange that you haven't shared their experience in some small way. Mark Haddon characterexperiencehave Change image and share on social
As a kid, I didn't read a great deal of fiction, and I've forgotten most of what I did read. Mark Haddon dealfictionforget Change image and share on social
I'm really interested in the extraordinary found in the normal. Hopefully, my books don't take you to an entirely different place but make you look at things around you. Mark Haddon bookextraordinaryfind Change image and share on social
Humour and high seriousness... Perfect bedfellows, I think. Though I usually phrase it in terms of comedy and darkness. Comedy without darkness rapidly becomes trivial. And darkness without comedy rapidly becomes unbearable. Mark Haddon bedfellowcomedydarkness share on social
I like poetry when I don't quite understand why I like it. Poetry isn't just a question of wrapping something up and giving it to someone else to unwrap. It just doesn't work like that. Mark Haddon givepoetryquestion Change image and share on social
I thought Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' was remarkable. Managing to be entertaining while still delivering all that hard science was a pretty good trick to pull off. Mark Haddon billbrysondeliver Change image and share on social
The main impetus for being a writer is thinking, 'I could invent another world. I'm not terribly keen on this one.' Mark Haddon impetusinventkeen Change image and share on social
Jane Austen was writing about boring people with desperately limited lives. We forget this because we've seen too many of her books on screen. Mark Haddon austenbookbore Change image and share on social
