For A Man To Know

Reading Is A Private Act, Private Even From The Person Who Wrote The Book. Once The Novel Is Out There, The Author Is Beside The Point. The Reader And The Book Have Their Own Relationship Now, And Should Be Left Alone To Work Things Out For Themselves.

I Was Very Influenced By The Magic Mountain. It's A Book That Had A Huge Impact On Me. I Loved That As A Shape For A Novel: Put A Bunch Of People In A Beautiful Place, Give Them All Tuberculosis, Make Them All Stay In A Fur Sleeping Bag For Several Years And See What Happens.

I Know That There Are People Out There Who Believe We Should Get Rid Of All Guns.

The Tricky Thing About Being A Writer, Or About Being Any Kind Of Artist, Is That In Addition To Making Art You Also Have To Make A Living.

Even Though I Didn't Know I Was Applying For The Job, I Have Somehow Become The Spokesperson For Independent Book Stores.