One of the first TV appearances that our band made in America, on the Craig Ferguson show. I forgot the lyrics to Little Lion Man and then broke two strings.
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
What does love feel like?
Relationships
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A verbatim recurring question in The Guardian's Q&A series.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I was followed by a mob of fans when I was doing a photoshoot in Paris. When I signed autographs for them during a break, one remarked: “Who the fuck is Harlan Coben? I told you it wasn’t Bruce Willis.”
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 August 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 122 →
Rosie Jones
British comedian and actress
One time I got so drunk in the Soho theatre in London that I fell asleep in the disabled toilet for two hours. People still call the toilet Rosie’s Bedroom.
I’ve shat myself in public three times. It’s never quite as bad as you fear.
Erin O'Connor
English model
Appearing on a Paris catwalk in a beard.
More from Harlan Coben
View profile →We are too often advised to live life to the fullest. That’s too much pressure. The key is to find joy and poignancy in the quiet and mundane. Life is lived between the so-called big moments.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but if I could go back and fix the mistake, I wouldn’t be here.
A white-hot explosion that turns into a comforting warmth.
With a wistful smile.
I worked a janitorial job, cleaning university dormitories after students had gone home for the summer. You can’t imagine the condition some of those rooms were in. They could have doubled as sets for a slasher film.
I don’t even voice them. Perhaps the books are my outlet here.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 366 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 69 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
Also answered this
Fay Ripley, Jane Asher, Kathy Lette, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Pauline McLynn, Jack Whitehall
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All failure & regret questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject