One minute with... Jon Ronson, Author and film-maker

Where are you now and what can you see?

I'm on the train to Manchester. I can see a woman sitting on her own muttering angrily at her computer screen.

What are you currently reading?

I'm re-reading Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse Five'. There's a Vonnegut bot on twitter that tweets one-liners, reducing them to Hallmark aphorisms. So it's nice to be reminded that he was actually great.

Choose a favourite author and say why you admire her/him

Raymond Carver. The reason why can be summed up in a line from his introduction to 'Where I'm Calling From'. I'm paraphrasing: "Nothing pierces the heart with such force as a full stop put in just the right place."

Describe the room where you usually write

I've just moved to a new one, the Upper West Side in New York. I've got a cross trainer and a sofa and my desk with a computer on it.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

Michael Owen from Jonathan Coe's novel, 'What A Carve Up'. A journalist getting so lost in the maze of writing his epic biography, he begins to lose his sense of reality.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

I am a great fan of Randy Newman.

Jon Ronson's latest book, 'Lost At Sea', is published by Picador