What books are on your night stand?
Right now a nice stack of poetry collections: Rosa Alcalá’s “You,” Zoë Hitzig’s “Not Us Now” and Tyree Daye’s “A Little Bump in the Earth.” I always keep an eye out for new collections at bookstores or at literary festivals. I save them for when life feels extra grim and then I’ll read a new one. Poetry does something wonderful to my brain that is different than the kind of wonderful thing prose does.
How do you organize your books?
I live in a small house and there’s only room for so much, so it’s more about what I keep versus what I do not. I am most likely to keep books my friends have written because I am fond of seeing their names on my shelves, and often I keep books that absolutely blow me away, but also sometimes I give those to people who I think would get something out of them. My love language is recommending or giving someone a book.
What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?
I have read a dozen books or so about menopause in the past year (perhaps my favorite is Jancee Dunn’s “Hot and Bothered”), and I enjoyed learning how menopause only occurs in humans and five species of whales. In the whale world, these females are respected for their wisdom and become the leaders of their pods. Like, sign me up for whale life.
How do you sign books for your fans?
Just the letter J in a giant swoop and occasionally I will add an A if I am feeling up for it. I am happy anyone cares enough to ask, but I am also obsessed with those stories where people find someone’s book at a yard sale and they’re signed “To My Dear Darling Wife” or “To My Favorite Student.” I have begun to expect this will happen to me soon — but I am kind of living for that moment, too. Who will betray me first?
Describe your ideal reading experience.
When I get a good night’s sleep and then wake up early when the city is still quiet, and I do not read the news straightaway. Then I make a cup of coffee and sit in my big blue chair while the sun rises slowly through the window and my small dog sleeps quietly next to me while I read.
What’s the last book you read that made you laugh?
Kristen Arnett’s “Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One,” which is out in March, is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read.
The last book you read that made you cry?
Kaveh Akbar’s “Martyr!” The last 100 pages or so in particular were so touching.
What’s the most useful book on writing you’ve ever read (aside from your own “1000 Words”)?
Starting out as a writer, I recall reading “Exercises in Style,” by Raymond Queneau, which retells the same scene in 99 different ways. Before then, I think I had only one idea of what writing a book should look like, and that idea felt rather serious and dramatic. From “Exercises” I learned that writing could — and should — be playful, an experiment.
Have you always been a goal-setter?
I was certainly a little nerd growing up but then I had a long stretch — most of my 20s — where I was just really high a lot of the time and did not have my act together. It wasn’t until my 30s that I started being focused on my work. Once I decided to really start writing, everything clicked into place. Because that felt better than being high all the time. Or it was a different kind of high. I’m a goal-setter who is seeking a high.
“God early days of a book are so fun,” you recently posted on X. One day earlier you posted: “Publishing a book makes you insane.” Which is it?
I can see why these two tweets taken out of context could be confusing. The first one was in regards to starting to write a new novel, which I am doing now, when things feel fun and inventive and like anything can happen. No rules, just play. The early days of any project are often the best part of the process for lots of people.
The second tweet really demonstrates the highs and lows of being a writer. We can feel good about the act of it, the writing itself, but the final execution — and that means selling it, editing it, watching it get packaged, then reviewed and critiqued by critics and strangers on the internet, wondering if anyone will care, worrying about sales, and all that — makes you insane. Monetizing your art? Madness lies this way. But away we go anyway. This is my 10th book, and I want to say I know better by now, but not by much. Maybe by book 20.
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