Zadie Smith
Novelist and essayist
Reading quietly, in high grass, among loved ones (who are also quietly reading). Followed by a boozy lunch.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Identity & self
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Originally asked
Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire
Verbatim recurring item in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire; two publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I think you can strive to attain it, but be realistic about the outcome. In the meantime, I find I might be experiencing it through flashes or brief moments in love and art, and at times just being alive.
The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 March 2010 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 158 →A walk on the Golden Strand beach in County Mayo, on the West Coast of Ireland.
Finally, a happy marriage, of now 39 years!
Warren Buffett
Chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, 1970–2025
The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others.
Recorded
His own pledge letter, written on joining the Giving Pledge in 2010, The Giving Pledge, 2010
source ↗
More from Martin Scorsese
View profile →When my friends and I were making Mean Streets, 1973.
First of all, I’d like to stop complaining—I’m beginning to annoy myself. I would like to learn to read faster, however. Again, the rest I’ve learned to live with.
Actually, I dislike dealing with schedules and logistics—mine and others’.
Laziness, wasting time. I’d like to be able to make films faster.
More on identity & self
- What is your greatest fear? 255 answers
- Which trait do you most dislike in yourself? 243 answers
- What most recently made you cry? 193 answers
- What did you want to be when you were growing up? 192 answers
- How would you describe yourself in three words? 110 answers
- What are you most proud of? 100 answers
Also answered this · A–Z
Ai Weiwei, Alan Arkin, Alfre Woodard, Alfred Molina, Alice Waters, Allison Janney
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Explore further
- All identity & self questions
- The The Proust Questionnaire questionnaire — 5 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject