This video is an hour long, or roughly two and half cups of coffee, but the first three minutes is worth it alone. In the rest of the video, Stephenson talks about Anathem. If you’ve got the time, watch. It’s fascinating to see how a sci-fi author delves the modern day for material.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnq-2BJwatE]
Oh yeah, read Anathem.