Gary Shteyngart’s interview at the New York Times is pretty cute.

• I start reading at 4 p.m. and continue way into cocktail hour, which begins at 4:30.
• I like stories where people suffer a lot. If there’s no suffering, I kind of tune out.
• Russia is a nightmarish authoritarian state, which is always good for some laughs. Satire always benefits when evil and stupidity collide.
• It’s important to talk to your books to remind them they still matter.
• Every time I see a writer crying on the streets of Brooklyn, I give her a hug and nine bucks for a latte at Connecticut Muffin. We’re all in this together.