442 Quotes by Paul Theroux

Reading is also a journey. It's a process of discovery.

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.

There are two places that are hard to write about. A place like Britain, England in particular, which has been written about by everybody, and then the place that's never been written about.

Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.

Writing is pretty crummy on the nerves.

I believe I have a sunny disposition, and am not naturally a grouch. It takes a lot of optimism, after all, to be a traveler.

When I left Africa in 1966 it seemed to me to be a place that was developing, going in a particular direction, and I don't think that is the case now. And it's a place where people still kid themselves - you know, in a few years this will happen or that will happen. Well, it's not going to happen. It's never going to happen.

Travel books are all sorts - some are autobiographies, some are about falling in love. Some are about having great meals, some are about suffering. There are as many different kinds of travel books as there are novels. People think a travel book is one thing. It's many things.

I like the idea of isolation, I like the idea of solitude. You can be connected and have a phone and still be lonely.