“When I'm following what a character does in a book I don't have to think about my own life. Where I am. Why I'm here. My moms and my brother and my old man. I can just think about the character's life and try and figure out what's gonna happen. Plus when you're in a group home you pretty much can't go anywhere, right? But when you read books you almost feel like you're out there in the world. Like you're going on this adventure right with the main character. At least, that's the way I do it. It's actually not that bad. Even if it is mad nerdy.” IfsThinkingMenWorldWayFeelsTryingDoeI CanBookCharacterHomeHappensMy OwnGroupsFiguresAdventureBrotherLike YouMomMadFollowingMy MomMy BrotherPlusOld ManMy Own LifeMain CharactersNerdy Author:Matt de la Pena
“Cormac McCarthy is my favorite author in the world. I love him so much. There's one book that informs me more than The Road - it's called Suttree. That book is a huge influence on me. I'm not smart enough to emulate him, but he inspires me. He never infiltrates my writing directly. He writes incredibly intelligently about people that are marginalized.” PeopleWorldWritingBookEnoughInfluenceInspireHugeSmartMy FavoriteEmulateI Love HimMarginalized Author:Matt de la Pena
“I think we all try to figure out ways to ignore the fact that life is about suffering. In the modern world, that's what we're surrounded with. We have all these little tools, such as phones and the Internet, to help us forget about suffering. Whenever you are tired, you don't have to really sit in the abyss of what it means to be alive. We always find ways to avoid it. When a ship sinks, you are sitting in it. There is no way to avoid.” ThinkingWorldWayTryingMeanLittlesFactsHelpingLife IsSufferingForgetAliveModernFiguresInternetSittingToolsTiredPhonesShipsAbyssModern World Author:Matt de la Pena
“But when you read books you almost feel like you're out there in the world. Like you're going on this adventure right with the main character. At least, that's the way I do it. It's actually not that bad. Even if it is mad nerdy.” IfsWorldWayFeelsBookCharacterAdventureLike YouMadMain CharactersNerdy Author:Matt de la Pena
