A lot of the ways of advertising a book - the cover, whether somebody sees it on a subway or sees it in a bookstore - those things are going to rapidly diminish as we move to an electronic model.

Let's see if I can write about something other than my heart.

I was really not a good student, and I felt that shame every day. That's one of the reasons I started smoking pot and drinking daily.

In contravention of my belief that any life ending in death is essentially pointless, I needed my friends to open up that plastic bag and take one last look at me. Someone had to remember me, if only for a few more minutes in the vast silent waiting room of time.

My parents were constantly afraid they would lose their jobs. The idea that we were always a paycheck away from disaster was drilled into me.

In America, the distance between wanting something and having it delivered to your living room is not terribly great.

By reading this message you are denying its existence and implying consent.