"In the winter of 2005, I received Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook as a Christmas present. It was during my early, struggling-writer years, when I was working as a chef to support my family (and my writing), and I often wondered if I’d ever make it as an author. I remember sitting down on Christmas Day to read Keller’s book in my small apartment in Colorado. I was inspired by his love for cooking, his artistry and creativity, and his deep dedication to his art. The book was an inspiration to me to keep writing and pursuing my dream of publication, and I promised myself that when I published my first book, I would celebrate at one of his restaurants. Ten years later, I signed my contract for Children of the New World with Picador. This past November, I invited my family to Per Se as a thank you for all their love and support throughout my years of writing, and I lifted a glass in thanks to Keller."

"This is a film — and this is kind of going away from this relationship theme — but this is a film that, when I was little, I loved. I mean, I’ve loved it my whole life. I don’t know what that says about me, but I loved Sunset Boulevard. I was a big old-movie fan when I was, you know, older than most people should be when they’re older-movie fans. [Gloria Swanson is] just so spectacular in that film and it sort of formed my idea of that raw, dramatic acting. And the writing… The writing in that movie is unbelievable. So many incredible one-liners. It’s one of those movies that you can watch now and you’re just, like, “Damn, that was a good line,” you know? Like, God, that was some good writing back then. The thing is that movies written that way wouldn’t fit in, really, these days. It would sound strange, like you couldn’t really do it now. But thank God we have them."