“J. K. Rowling has said that she was bullied in school. She was a daydr...” — Alexandra Robbins Quote

J. K. Rowling has said that she was bullied in school. She was a daydreamer and had her nose in books all the time, much like some of her characters today.

I tend to focus on young people and on giving a voice to groups of people who don't normally get their voices heard.

In the black sororities, they celebrate achievement academically, and they really do work toward community service. As much as the white sororities claim that's the case in their groups, it's not really so. White sororities focus on relationships.

There are three elements to perceived popularity. A student has to be visible, recognizable and influential.

Books were my window on the world. Growing up at the Elephant and Castle, which was very rough, my paradise was the library.

I read true crime books, and I read when people do case studies of stuff. I'm into books like that. Case studies or forensics or murder - all that good stuff.

Our generation in the west was lucky: we had readymade gateways. We had books, paper, teachers, schools and libraries. But many in the world lack these luxuries. How do you practice without such tryout venues?

Somewhat sadly, the survival of many bookstores now depends on selling merchandise other than books.

Sometimes it occurs to me that the job of a serious cultural critic mostly consists in telling the generality of people that their opinions - on films, on books, on all manner of widgets, gadgets and even the latest electronic fidgets - simply aren't up to scratch.