Stephen Colbert Author Interview: David Shields, The 'Vanilla Ice Of Novels' On His Book 'Reality Hunger' (VIDEO)

David Shields, the author of the new book "Reality Hunger: A Manifesto," came onto "The Colbert Report" to talk about his book and his quest to free contemporary writing from the constraints of the 19th century. His book is made almost entirely of quotations from other writing -- without citations. "All art is theft," he said, and cited Shakespeare and James Joyce as some of the great literary thieves.

As an example, Shields called Colbert out for deriving his "persona" from his "Fox News counterpart," but Colbert was quick to respond:

I would disagree with you, but, a) I don't know what the word "persona" means, and b) If you are saying that I have achieved anything like the greatness of my friends Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly, well then I am flattered.

The interview ended with Colbert cutting out the last ten pages of the book -- where his quotations were cited -- by Shields's request: "I want the book to be read the way I want it to be read," he said.

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