"I decided that a while back that The National are my favorite band. There are so many bands I love, but none of them connect with quite like The National. This is a fun tune off their latest record I Am Easy To Find. You should also check out the short film by the same name which is connected in a variety of interesting ways to the record."

"And Barry Lyndon. Anything by Kubrick. [Pauses] 2001… no… Barry Lyndon, yeah. If we’re talking about Australian films, probably something like Ten Canoes. That’s probably my favorite Australian film ever made, actually. I think it’s a great, great film. I’ve probably listed more than five. And then there’s 8 ½… I could go on forever. There are some great films coming to mind, like The Return, the Russian film. [Laughs] I’ll stop."

"One of my favorite films from Jim Jarmusch; I can never get enough of it. Beautifully shot by Robby Müller in Louisiana, a jailbreak with Tom Waits, John Lurie, and the first time many of us were to see the amazing Roberto Benigni. The Defiant Ones meets the Marx Brothers and even better. Jim is one of the last true stylists left in this “sad and beautiful world.”"

"One novel that I think will always be a personal favorite of mine is Room. The book is a force of nature: harrowing one moment, poignant the next. I can think of few books that so powerfully convey the lengths we will go to as parents to keep our children safe. And that voice? Brilliant. This is a book that gave me one whopper of an inferiority complex as a writer."

"MASH. To me, MASH is the superb realization of [Robert] Altman. Amazing. Whether it’s the improvisational nature, the way he layers dialogue, the way that he has scenes that are alive on every level. The rebelliousness, the anarchy, the humor. You know, Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould were just [great]. To me, it was sort of like the perfect realization of what he does, although McCabe & Mrs. Miller is another favorite."

"Another obvious choice, but I have so much love for DFW. I have always been more drawn to his non-fiction, and this collection of essays is my favorite. The first writing of his that I ever read was the title essay of this collection, and it made me want to be a better journalist. It think DFW is a writer that generally inspires other writers to want to be better."

"This is my favorite collection of short stories, and every time I pick it up, it reminds me that there is a genius on Earth with heart and humor so evolved I have to wonder if she is from the future. This book breaks my brain open so it can grow. I'll be sitting there on my island, praying that someone will drop Barrodale's next book on my head from heaven."