I don't think anybody does anything anymore without commenting on why they're doing it or making fun of it as they're doing it.

It's like that where these little anecdotes come through, and I guess that's what I like about books like that [He Stopped Loving Her Today]. Fiction now is so experiential.

I don't think anybody does anything anymore without commenting on why they're doing it or making fun of it as they're doing it.

You can write songs about your comic books and the girl or boy you sort of know and your mom and dad and it's all right there in front of you.

Most book things now (with a few exceptions) are just built around nice, safe books written for nice and safe book club readers. These are usually the books you see on display at Barnes and Noble. These Internet writers are like literary terrorists to me. They're training as we speak. They're getting ready to invade. They're building an army.

So much of our culture is bought and manufactured - not to say great art can't come out of that. Some art is really amazing that is manufactured and sold, like action movies and stuff.

It's weird. People want you to know that they write. They want you to know they're a musician, rather than making music or making stories. It's the strangest thing.