Graeme Simsion Quotations

A lot of romantic comedies are just light romantic dramas, or the comedy comes off second-best.

Fortunately, I am accustomed to creating amusement inadvertently.

I am a big advocate of the role of the bookstore in the community.

I worked in information technology and academia for a long time and met many people who were better with things and ideas than with people.

There's definitely a role for online booksellers, but they can't host events, bring people together, and form a personal relationship in the way a bricks-and-mortar store and its staff can.

All of us have to make some accommodations and allowances if we are to live with another person.

I am happy that I'm a better novelist than a screenwriter.

I set out to write a screenplay but, since my early 20s, had dreamed of writing a novel.

Interestingly for me, modern rom coms have not always been funny - many of the iconic rom coms are more like light dramas with occasional comedic moments, often coming from secondary character.

Our first relationship with a male is with our fathers. It affects how we relate to men forever.

I watched as Humphrey Bogart’s character used beans as a metaphor for the relative unimportance in the wider world of his relationship with Ingrid Bergman’s character, and chose logic and decency ahead of his selfish emotional desires. The quandary and resulting decision made for an engrossing film. But this was not what people cried about. They were in love and could not be together. I repeated this statement to myself, trying to force an emotional reaction. I couldn’t. I didn’t care. I had enough problems of my own.

If Rosie’s mother had known that eye colour was not a reliable indicator of paternity, and organised a DNA test to confirm her suspicions, there would have been no Father Project, no Great Cocktail Night, no New York Adventure, no Reform Don Project—and no Rosie Project. Had it not been for this unscheduled series of events, her daughter and I would not have fallen in love. And I would still be eating lobster every Tuesday night. Incredible.

I could not see the speedometer, and was not accustomed to travelling in an open vehicle, but I estimated that we were consistently exceeding the speed limit. Discordant sound, wind, risk of death—I tried to assume the mental state that I used at the dentist.

So, to add to a momentous day, I corrected a misconception that my family had held for at least fifteen years and came out to them as straight.

Gene told me the next day that I got it wrong. But he was not in a taxi, after an evening of total sensory overload, with the most beautiful woman in the world. I believed I did well. I detected the trick question. I wanted Rosie to like me, and I remembered her passionate statement about men treating women as objects. She was testing to see if I saw her as an object or as a person. Obviously the correct answer was the latter. ‘I haven’t really noticed,’ I told the most beautiful woman in the world.

I know this song!’ Rosie laughed. ‘If you didn’t, that’d be the final proof that you’re from Mars.

You can’t go through life not listening to music.

Humans often fail to see what is close to them and obvious to others.

A woman at the rear of the room raised her hand. I was focused on the argument now and made a minor social error, which I quickly corrected. "The fat woman-overweight woman-at the back?"

If you really love someone,' Claudia continued, 'you have to be prepared to accept them as they are. Maybe you hope that one day they get a wake-up call and make the changes for their own reasons.

I haven’t changed my mind. That’s the point! I want to spend my life with you even though it’s totally irrational. And you have short earlobes. Socially and genetically there’s no reason for me to be attracted to you. The only logical conclusion is that I must be in love with you.

You’re unbelievable,’ said Rosie. ‘Look at me when I’m talking.’ I kept looking out the window. I was already over-stimulated. ‘I know what you look like.

Professor Tillman. Most of us here are not scientists, so you may need to be a little less technical.’ This sort of thing is incredibly annoying. People can tell you the supposed characteristics of a Gemini or a Taurus and will spend five days watching a cricket match, but cannot find the interest or the time to learn the basics of what they, as humans, are made up of.

Restaurants are minefields for the socially inept

To the world's most perfect woman. It was lucky my father was not present. Perfect is an absolute that cannot be modified, like unique or pregnant. My love for Rosie was so powerful that it had caused my brain to make a grammatical error.

I asked you here tonight because when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

What would you like?" "A skinny decaf latte." This is a ridiculous form of coffee, but I did not point it out.

There are so many weird people that nobody takes any notice. We all just fit right in.

Research consistently shows that the risks to health outweigh the benefits of drinking alcohol. My argument is that the benefits to my mental health justify the risks.

But why, why, why can't people just say what they mean?

I feel I've done the 10,000 hours you have to do to get good at something.