In an email interview, she talked about plumbing, “The Godfather” and the unpublished book that contains the seed of her new “Peck & Peck.” — SCOTT HELLER
What books are on your night stand?
Anna Heyward’s “Living With Freddie: How a Dog Taught Me to Be Human” — it’s great. Beeban Kidron’s “Users: How Big Tech Took Control and How to Fight Back” — it’s smart and important. Brian Bilston’s “How to Lay an Egg With a Horse Inside” is on top. If you think you don’t like poetry, Bilston will change your mind.
What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?
“Basic Plumbing,” by Thomas Philbin. After college I struggled financially and although I had a full-time job, I took weekend classes in plumbing and electrical because I thought it might be a way to bring in extra cash. Didn’t happen. Part of the reason: I electrocuted my wiring partner twice. He was fairly good-natured about it, but when I announced my intention to drop that section, he failed to hide his joy.
How do you organize your books?
After I finish a book, I stuff it wherever I find some room, but my husband likes to organize the shelves by putting books next to each other he believes would be friends in real life. That’s why in our library you’ll find “The Princess Bride” next to “The Dream of Perpetual Motion,” and “The Return of the Soldier” next to “My Side of the Mountain,” and “London Falling” next to “Five Families,” and “Where the Wild Things Are” next to our daughter’s high school yearbook.
A character in “Peck & Peck” is a typeface connoisseur. Do you have a favorite of your own?
Bodoni. It’s a serifed typeface invented in the late 1700s by Giambattista Bodoni. A product of the Enlightenment era, it’s a high-contrast rationalist face that uses thin horizontal lines to support its thick vertical stems. I love it for its clarity, elegance and visual impact.
Do you believe, as you write, that “poetry is genetic”?
No, but I think we’re all born with potential, and while it takes thousands of hours of practice to turn that potential into something real, making that kind of commitment is what life is all about. That’s one of the reasons Gen A.I. bothers me so much. There is no effort, no practice, no learning, no growth.
What’s the last book you read that made you laugh?
“Villa Coco,” by Andrew Sean Greer.
The last book that made you cry?
I don’t cry very easily but when I got to that part in Ann Patchett’s “Whistler” when we finally understand what happened, I lost it.
The most terrifying book you’ve ever read?
“It,” by Stephen King. I hate clowns and always have, but Pennywise made me clown-a-phobic. When my kids were little, I used to worry I’d have to host a clown-themed birthday party, so I tried to be supportive of their ideas as long as it was clown-free and that is how we ended up with a houseful of snakes.
Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book?
“The Godfather.” My librarian gave me a copy when I was 11. My mom called the school.
How have your reading tastes changed over time?
I used to love fantasy, but as I reached my teens, I started in on all the literary giants. I didn’t love everything I read, but none of it was a waste of time except for “The Magic Mountain,” by Thomas Mann, which I still don’t get. Today about half of my reading pile is nonfiction. The other half is fiction in a variety of genres.
How do you sign books for your fans?
I always ask readers questions themselves, especially about what they do or where they’re from, and that influences what I write.
Will you ever go back and try to publish the much-rejected novel you wrote before “Lessons in Chemistry”?
Full disclosure: I have three novels in the reject pile. The first I wrote when I was 5. It’s one page long; I also illustrated it. My kids found it in our basement and occasionally threaten to release it, but I find their blackmail demands to be fairly reasonable, also deductible. I wrote the second when I was 12. It’s called “Peanut Butter Anyone?” (don’t judge) and my librarian bound it and put it in the school library. No one ever checked it out. The third was rejected by 98 agents, but it did contain the seed for “Peck & Peck,” so it wasn’t a total waste.
You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
Margaret Atwood because she’s Margaret Atwood, but also because our dads were both entomologists and I thought we could talk about how many times we’ve been bitten, and by what. Mark Twain because he was funny and fearless. Susan Orlean because I love her ability to make even the smallest stories sing.
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