“I think the highest purpose of fiction is to show that all people are fundamentally worthy of mercy.”

“Sport-based video games occupy an odd space within the sphere of modern home entertainment. Reliably enjoyed by millions, the sport-based video game stands at what sometimes feels like an oblique angle from the larger medium, and in ways that can be hard to articulate.”

“Fun is not the same thing as fulfillment. ”

“I think the highest purpose of fiction is to show that all people are fundamentally worthy of mercy.”

“We are no longer worried that children are missing school because of video games, though. We are worried that they are murdering their classmates because of video games.”

“Reading gives one something to think about other than one's self.”

“A great writer reveals the truth even when he or she does not wish to.”

“Of that time, there is still much we do not know.”

“An artist can respect the backfield of fact before which every human being stands and choose not to address those facts.”

“In the emergency of growing up, we all need heroes. But the father I grew up with was no hero to me, not then. He was too wounded in the head, too endlessly and terribly sad. Too funny, too explosive, too confusing. Heroes are uncomplicated. *This* makes them do *that*… But the war does not make sense. War senselessly wounds everyone right down the line. A body bag fits more than just its intended corpse. Take the 58,000 American soldiers lost in Vietnam and multiply by four, five, six—and only then does one begin to realize the damage this war has done… War when necessary, is unspeakable. When unnecessary, it is unforgivable. It is not an occasion for heroism. It is an occasion only for survival and death. To regard war in any other way only guarantees its inevitable reappearance.”