a heartbreaking work of staggering genius

If I could have dinner with one author, it would be Dave Eggers. His writing style is my muse. His merger of artistic quality with social justice inspires me. I want to be like Dave Eggers--except scary. In A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, he writes: “[M]y mother read a horror novel every night. She had read every one in the library. When birthdays and Christmas would come, I would consider buying her a new one, the latest Dean R. Koontz or Stephen King or whatever, but I couldn't. I didn't want to encourage her. I couldn't touch my father's cigarett[...]