A bunch of chairs lined up in front of a podium equals school. Lynn Coady More Quotes by Lynn Coady More Quotes From Lynn Coady It’s so dangerous to idealize anything, or anyone, or any place, because it gives that thing or person or place a kind of permission to not have to change, and not have to evolve. It encourages us to bury our heads in the sand, or in values that are really morally neutral but that we pretend are moral goods: tradition, community and family for example. Lynn Coady communityexamplegiving Delightful, tragic, gloriously elegiac and riddled with puns-Close to Hugh is just like life, only so much more beautiful for being art. Lynn Coady tragicbeautifulart Grownups, as a rule, should always be ready to pay for their own meals - or else ready to graciously accept their date's insistence on paying. The point is, one doesn't sit there batting one's eyelashes, fully expecting someone else to claim the bill. Lynn Coady ownsomeoneacceptalways Let's not confuse traditional behaviours with good manners. The definition of etiquette is gender neutral - it simply means we strive at all times to ensure a person in our company feels at ease. Lynn Coady persongoodgendermanners As a novelist, you have to pick your battles. You are tired. You have begun to experience the first ominous tinglings of carpal tunnel syndrome. You wake up in the middle of the night with both hands lying across your chest like a couple of plucked bird carcasses, dead of all sensation. Lynn Coady youtiredexperiencebird Here's the thing about lingerie: The only time we see it outside our own bedrooms, it is on women who are gloriously freakish in their physical perfection. Lynn Coady seewomenperfectiontime That's all small talk is - a quick way to connect on a human level - which is why it is by no means as irrelevant as the people who are bad at it insist. In short, it's worth making the effort. Lynn Coady badeffortpeopleway One does not become an atheist out of a desire for hassle-free Sunday mornings. People come to atheism because they have a problem with organized religion - usually a problem they consider to be of moral urgency. Lynn Coady sundayproblempeoplereligion I spent so many years in terror of 'making it legal' because the expression rang all too true - the wedding ritual struck me as nothing but a flowery front for the fulfilment of countless, tedious contracts and obligations. Lynn Coady legalnothingmewedding I've never understood people who treat their loved ones worse and with less respect than they would a total stranger or minor acquaintance. Lynn Coady treatlovedrespectpeople Filtering can be a very good thing when it comes to human relationships and familial harmony. Yeah, filtering is often an absolute necessity. Lynn Coady relationshipshumangoodharmony Now, as a writer, the whole world is your nail polish display, and what's more, you can help yourself. A thrilling, colourful array of gorgeous human peculiarity revolves before your eyes, and you still can't quite believe it's all yours for the taking. Lynn Coady eyesyourselfyouworld I'm no atheist - I'm lazy. I really do like hassle-free Sunday mornings. I have a problem with organized religion, so I've simply opted out. Live and let live, I figure. Lynn Coady livesundayproblemreligion One day it hit me: Truest friends, God bless their hearts, could not care less. They love you, they're pleased you're getting married and, ultimately, they don't give a fig how you get it done. Lynn Coady daymegodlove Somewhere in our cultural subconscious, we crave these figures that are big and strong and unassailable, like masculine fortresses. It's like how the 9/11 firemen were venerated. Lynn Coady somewherebiglikestrong I should say I am not much of a gamer - anymore. The reason for this is that I have to make a living, and my body requires vitamin D, and I've come to value the heady pleasures of human interaction over the temporary exhilaration of reaching the 'next level.' Lynn Coady valuei-amsaybody Loneliness sucks. It's a slog. It feels wonderful and exhilarating when someone makes it go away. But love is a whole different ball game. Lynn Coady gamelonelinesslove-islove I don't even like to cry in private. Lynn Coady privateevenlikecry It makes me proud not just to be a Canadian writer but to be a Canadian, to live in a country where we treat our writers like movie stars. Lynn Coady treatmeproudstars I would just randomly blurt out things like, 'What if a man showed up today and was carrying an umbrella, but it wasn't raining?' Eventually, people started to call me weird. Lynn Coady memantodaypeople
