I'm always happy," Sasha said. "Sometimes I just forget.

The problem was precision, perfection; the problem was digitization, which sucked the life out of everything that got smeared through its microscopic mesh.

We live in a moment and a culture when reading is really endangered. There's simply no way to write well, though, if you're not reading well.

I am at my worst trying to write about things that overlap with my life.

I listened to classic rock and roll, and punk rock. 'Goon Squad' provides a pretty accurate playlist of my teenage years, though it leaves out 'The Who,' which was my absolute favorite band.

So I feel that lack of qualification. And I'm scared. And I have a tendency to think things may not/probably won't work out. That's my basic mindset.

That adage about 'Write what you know' is basically the opposite of the way I function. I write about what I'm curious to find out.