Last stand

I'll probably post once or twice more before Ron returns. For now, here's a funny exchange from David Remnick's talk with John Updike on Saturday:

Remnick: What's the biggest great [literary] event you've missed?
Updike: Tristram Shandy. I can't seem to finish it. It's so nitpicky! It's one long quibble! And it's funny, witty, avante-garde, unpredictable—everything I like. I'd like to finish it before I die. And maybe it'll be the way I die.
[The crowd roars.]
Remnick: I refuse to end this conversation on that statement!