To me, Lou Reed always seems like such a mean jackass. I wouldn't think Salman Rushdie is any dreamboat, either. (Image by David Shankbone.)

The Wall Street Journal conducted a Q&A with Salman Rushdie, in which the writer discusses his adopted city of New York. An excerpt:

“My first night here in 1973, I was invited to Windows on the World which had just opened. I was 26, had long hair and had to put on a suit to get in. I wrote about that New York—the underground of the CBGBs—in The Ground Beneath Her Feet. I bought a house here 12 years ago. Fury, my New York novel, was published on 9/11/01! I feel more allied to cities than countries. I’m a Bombay—not Mumbai!—boy more than an Indian. I’ve spent most of my life in London and feel at home there. Now I belong here. I first stayed with a friend in a St. Mark’s Place brownstone, I’ve lived on the Upper West Side, I’ve lived downtown. I remember Times Square before it became Disneyland. The informality about downtown Manhattan was very attractive. I fell in love with it when I was young and wanted to live here. Now? I’m friendly with so many people here–to have Lou Reed’s phone number is like having God’s email address.”