The designers [of the 1930s] were populists, you see; they were trying to give the public what it wanted. What the public wanted was the future.

Secrets...are the very root of cool.

I'm quite proud of what I anticipated about reality television from my books in the early '90s, which I based on the early seasons of 'Cops' and on the amazing stuff I had read about happening on Japanese shows and the British 'Big Brother'.

I assume that - because you can get degrees in journalism from very reputable universities - I assume that people can be trained to be journalists. I've never been entirely certain that anyone can be trained to be a novelist in the same way.

Canadian cities looked the way American cities did on television.

I only go to Japan when there's someone who can afford to bring me there, and consequently I may never go again!

I find it interesting to see people - mostly people who are younger than I am - going to considerable trouble to try to reproduce things from an era that was far more physical, from a less virtual day.