Without the New York Times, there is no blog community. They'd have nothing to blog about.

What interests me about fiction is plot. And what interests me about plot is whether someone tells a story that moves me within the constraints of storytelling. And I have narrowly defined storytelling.

When we become expert in something, our tastes grow more esoteric and complex.

That's your responsibility as a person, as a human being - to constantly be updating your positions on as many things as possible. And if you don't contradict yourself on a regular basis, then you're not thinking.

[Norden] said, with the Mark 15 Norden bombsight, he could drop a bomb into a pickle barrel at 20,000 feet.

I should point out that I have a picture of Asbel Kiprop as the screensaver on my phone. Is that embarrassing?

Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.