I was a shy, terrified kid. But I was also a kid who was lucky enough to have friends. I laughed with those friends. I had adventures. We dreamed together. I relied on them.

Island of the Blue Dolphins' by Scott O'Dell had a huge impact on me.

I think our job is to trust our readers. I think our job is to see and to let ourselves be seen. I think our job is to love the world.

My goal is two pages a day, five days a week. I never want to write, but I'm always glad that I have done it. After I write, I go to work at the bookstore.

If I knew the joy a child brings, I'd have become a mom earlier.

If something really gave me immense happiness, I will remember it for the rest of my life in vivid detail. But if something bothered me, or I regretted it deeply, I will move ahead from it and forget.

I've never gone into business to make money. Every Virgin product and service has been made into a reality to make a positive difference in people's lives. And by focusing on the happiness of our customers, we have been able to build a successful group of companies.

Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not for its own sake, but for the joy brought by the certainty of profaning it.