You know, Im always surprised when I read profiles, and they make me sound so jaded. I am so not jaded.

You keep thinking that with practice you will eventually get the knack of enjoying superficial encounters, that you will stop looking for the universal solvent, stop grieving. You will learn to compound happiness out of small increments of mindless pleasure.

My former wife is a very eccentric woman, which is why I still love her.

Delia's arms were inscribed with a grid of self- inflicted wounds, an intricate text of self-loathing

I love to imagine inside the head of a woman.

You have friends who actually care about you and speak the language of the inner self. You have avoided them of late. Your soul is as disheveled as your apartment, and until you can clean it up a little you don't want to invite anyone inside.

Tim Thornton's portrait of a pop culture obsession is so convincing that one can't help wishing that his fictional alt rock band actually existed, or suspecting that they did. The Alternative Hero is a weirdly compelling portrait of fanatic fandom which reads like High Fidelity at high volume.