I think the worst thing we can do is to concede to fanaticism its devotion, say. Well, you have to understand, these people are really fanatics, so we should back down from them. I think if journalists start doing that then they won't be practicing journalism. If satirists start doing that then they won't be practicing satire.

A good analogy [Charlie Hebdo] in lots of ways is "South Park" - the hugely popular American cartoon show - and the things that the "South Park" creators have created, like "The Book Of Mormon," the Broadway musical. If I were a devout Mormon, I would be offended by a lot of things that go on in "The Book Of Mormon," right? It mocks mercilessly the pretensions to truth of Mormonism and the pretensions to virtue of Mormon missionaries.

Frauds master our minds; magicians, like poets and lovers, engage them in a permanent maze of possibilities.

Big writers become a kind of shared climate.

I think that we're always drawn - particularly sophisticated people - are always drawn to the idea of simplicity.

In bookstores, my stuff is usually filed in the out-of-the-way, additional interest sections.

I still think the best classic meal in New York is a coffee-shop breakfast - you sort of can't skip it.