Into it: Carl Hiaasen

... Reading?

I'm reading a book called What Was Asked of Us [by Trish Wood and Bobby Muller]. It's a collection of first-person accounts of the Iraq war from war veterans. [The authors] let them talk about what they were told, what they believed, and what happened. They are some of the most moving, heartbreaking, and infuriating things you'll ever read. These are just men and women who went over to do a job – real, true heroes – and they had no idea what they were getting into. One example is a guy in the Army talking about rolling into Baghdad and how they were begging and begging for armor for their Humvees, and for vests once the IEDs [improvised explosive devices] started. In this guy's case, it never came. It just gives you chills.

In my car, my CD player has the new Tom Petty album; I've got The Eagles "Hell Freezes Over." I have "Revolver" by The Beatles, and I've got an album that hasn't been released yet. It's a collection of rarities by Warren Zevon, who was a friend of mine. Rhino is going to release it. And then I have a mix album – my stepson burned it for me – it's got some Neil Young and Stones, Who, Kinks, a big mix.

I don't watch much television because I'm a news junkie. I watch CNN and the national news when I can. For recreational television, I watch Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is a riot. I watch The Office, which I think is very clever. I watch football, mainly the pros, but I'm a graduate of the University of Florida, so I've obviously been following their season. I hardly ever go to the movies. I took my 6-year-old son to see March of the Penguins. That's the last time I was in a theater. I was on a plane and I watched Talladega Nights and I laughed [a lot]. It helps to be a Southerner when you're watching that one.

• Carl Hiaasen's 11th novel, "Nature Girl," was recently published by Knopf.