I stumbled across Charlie Ruas, a guy who’s talked with David Shipler, Dave King, Lily Tuck, A.S. Byatt and many others. Unfortunately, Ruas is a bit of a frightening interviewer. He speaks in a slow and booming baritone that must be heard to be believed, e-nunc-ee-a-ting each word as if about to take the pulpit. An idle thought: must all literary interviewers be so intense (perhaps the word humorless applies) about literature? Writers are, by their very craft, playful folks. Shouldn’t they be entitled to a bit of playful banter every now and then?