What books are on your night stand?
“Septology,” by Jon Fosse; “The War in the West,” by James Holland; “Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink.”
What books would people be surprised to find on your shelves?
Books of military weapons and books on the public buildings constructed by the W.P.A. during F.D.R.’s administration.
Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how).
By a fire in the winter in a mountain chalet with a scotch, while it’s snowing, and the sun is setting.
Which genres do you especially enjoy reading? Which do you avoid?
I avoid sci-fi. Don’t know why. I’m drawn to biographies and historical fiction.
How have your reading tastes changed over time?
Not that much, honestly.
What’s the last great book you read?
“Alisse at the Fire,” by Jon Fosse. The structure of it is unlike any other book I’ve read. The stream of consciousness that doubles back on itself again and again yet keeps moving forward; the brilliant repetition that never becomes redundant, creating a rhythm all its own; the melding of characters, time and place are poetic.
What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?
Too many to mention, but the usual suspects, “War and Peace,” “Moby-Dick” and so on.
What have you learned about the publishing industry being married to a literary agent?
That it is a very difficult industry indeed, especially now that we have become so connected to our phones and seek entertainment visually more than ever. I admire anyone who works in the world of books.
Where did the idea for this book come from?
Simon & Schuster in the U.S. and Penguin in the U.K., who had published “Taste,” wanted me to write another book. I didn’t want to do another cookbook. My wife said, “Why don’t you just write about what you eat in one year?” And there it was, the idea and the title all in one. She is too smart. Simply put, it’s about love, loss and the passage of time encapsulated by many meals eaten at many different tables. I miss writing it.
Have you ever kept a food diary before?
I have only ever made notes over the years, but inconsistently.
How did you deal with stains?
Stains? I am very cautious when I eat. If I stain something, I will do what anyone does, I “Shout” it out.
“I think of death very often,” you write. Does thinking about food help?
Yes, because food is life affirming. Reading about food helps too.
Looking back at your year of eating, what surprised you?
How much traveling I did and how much I eat.
You worried that recalling all those good meals would cause you to gain weight. Did it happen?
No, fortunately it did not happen. I have a very fast metabolism and exercise six days a week and I don’t really snack or eat sweets.
At one point in the book you describe your wife suffering a bout of diarrhea. Why share so much?
To get a laugh. Why else?
You say you can detect when chefs and actors are trying too hard. What about writers?
Of course. When writing is labored it won’t ring true. It’s the same in any art form.
Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book?
No. But I’m sure I’ve gotten in trouble for not reading a book when I was in school.
What book would you most like to see turned into a movie or TV show that hasn’t already been adapted?
“Unto the Sons,” by Gay Talese. I had done an outline with Nick Pileggi many years ago. It tells the story of Gay’s Italian family over many generations, two world wars and finally their emigration to the U.S. It is perhaps the most important book about the complexity of Italy, particularly southern Italy, and the Italians themselves. It’s a story that has never really been told cinematically in the depth and on the scale it deserves. It is a timely story now more than ever.
Which character from literature would you most like to play?
Fagin in “Oliver Twist.”
The restaurant critic for The Times has left that job. Interested?
Nope.
You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
Maya Angelou, Shakespeare and Robert Harris.
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