Book club: Q&A with Penelope Lively - author of How It All Began

I thought Henry was a brilliant character - pretty awful until he becomes a sad figure at the end. Do you think men generally find ageing gracefully, submitting to the loss of their power, more difficult than women?

There is a powerful theme in the book of stories teaching people the really valuable things in life, and especially how to put yourself in other people's shoes. Is this something you personally believe about novels and do you worry that young people are reading less because of so many other distractions? if they are, do you think that will affect the way they empathise with each other?

Are you still inspired by the same writers you were when you were younger? Is there anyone you aimed to write like, or did your own voice come naturally?

How It All Began is beautifully structured, with all the stories spinning away from each other. Do you have to work hard on the architecture of a book before you start writing? Do you always know where you're going to end up?

A question for Penelope Lively - what comes first, the plot or the characters?

I will definitely get 'How it All Began' because I read 'Oleander Jacaranda' and absolutely loved it. I decided to do an A level in my forties because I'd only taken 'O' levels at school (though went on to do Radiography), and Oleander was one of my books. I loved It!! Penelope, you ran headlong into General de Gaulle on the landing in your Egyptian residence as a child. he was in his bathrobe with his bathroom bag clutched in his hand. It's an image that has always stuck in my mind. By the way i passed it with an 'A' grade which I was so chuffed about! Very best wishes to you.

Delighted to receive free copy..... took it on holiday with me and thoroughly enjoyed it...the book and the holiday. Now passed it onto husband and daughter no 1 next in the queue!

Really pleased to receive a free copy of 'The Thread' by Victoria Hislop and given the awful weather I intend to spend the weekend reading it..

I found How It All Began surprisingly funny. Does the humour just keep breaking out or do you think carefully about adding in humour in?

Which is your favourite novel of the ones that you've written?

Do you feel that there are any that were/are unfairly underrrated or neglected?

Has having children been a help or a hinderance with writing? Did you get going when they were young?

I think it was Samuel Johnson who said, 'nobody ever wrote except for money" (or words to that effect). Did you expect to make money from writing when you started out? Did you succeed?

Why do you think novels have tended to focus on young people, and marriage plots? Do you think as people live longer we will get more novels about older people?

I read somewhere that you don't approve of people reading on kindles. A lot of us on here are very attached to our kindles! What d'you think is wrong with them? (You can't alter the font size in a book!)

Do you set out to write a book on a different theme each time, or do you think the same themes have preoccupied you throughout your career?

You were honoured by the Queen in the most recent New Year's honours - I think you have a CBE. What was that like and what did it mean to you?