Sarah Moss: I find the phrase ‘first world problems’ deeply objectionable
It suggests that humans live on different planets, determined by economic conditions, which lets us off many hooks we would have to discuss if we accepted that all global resources are inequitably shared
I fly too much and I feel guilty about it, but I keep doing it
On a burning planet with limited resources, we need more international understanding, more curiosity about other lives in other places
I’ve always been suspicious of writers’ block. Nurses don’t get nurses’ block
There is a time to count and a time to be counted; the work is to know when that time comes
The man I met while out running thought I was wrong not to track my miles
Counting time and distance when I run would quickly turn joy to punishment
I don’t use social media and of course I sometimes wonder if the cost is worth the benefit
It’s mostly comfortable for me to be away from my phone because I don’t use social media, which means that probably not much has changed since I last looked
You’re so brave, people say, to cycle in Dublin
The danger is in the interaction of drivers and cyclists, almost exclusively to the disadvantage and sometimes to the death of the cyclist
My teacher told my parents I was ‘retarded’. My grandmother taught me to read
Letting contradictions sit with you makes life more interesting, opens up the world a bit more
Sarah Moss: Irish dog-walkers are kinder than English dog-walkers
Sarah Moss: I know several men whose terror is just as deep and abject as my own but they lost their permission to be scared when they started primary school
Sarah Moss: As a bike-riding vegetarian feminist I can see why people might disagree with everything I think
Sarah Moss: Naturally I have views, mostly of the sort you’d probably expect from a bike-riding vegetarian feminist academic, but I’m certain about very few of them
Why do I knit? I’m not patient, knitting helps me to wait, takes the edge off agitation
I wouldn’t have the time, people say, usually while they sit beside me with hands at rest or on their phones
Sarah Moss on Good Girls: A story and study of anorexia by Hadley Freeman
A memoir of Freeman’s anorexia in adolescence and early adulthood, told with energy and sadness
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane: An exciting tale of Australia and European settlers
A novel that whirls us through interior narratives and households of characters from across the social spectrum
A Line Above the Sky: Satisfying and intriguing to read
Book review: Helen Mort explores risk-taking, gender, rock climbing and motherhood
The Magician by Colm Tóibín: Beautiful, sweeping exploration of Thomas Mann’s life
Historical fiction carries its echoing questions about art and war with grace
Dinner Party by Sarah Gilmartin: Escaping from maternal control
Book review: Drama swirls around family trying to free themselves of Mammy’s influence