Novelist and editor Jonathan Evison was born and raised
in California and has a résumé that
features stints as, among other things, laborer, syndicated radio host and
frontman for the punk rock band March of Crimes. An intensive childhood reading
habit planted the seed of his consuming desire to write, write, write. After
years of having his work ignored or politely tolerated, he saw his first novel,
All About Lulu (Soft Skull Press,
2008), not only published to wide acclaim but also embraced by hordes of
enthusiastic readers even before it was chosen for a Washington State Book Award. He lives with his family and a rambunctious assortment
of dogs and rabbits on Bainbridge Island, Wash., a short, gorgeous ferry ride
from Seattle. He is also
the executive editor of the online literary journal the Nervous Breakdown.
On your nightstand now:
Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt, The Sister's Brothers by Patrick deWitt, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Favorite book when you were a child:
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Your top five authors:
Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck, Herman Melville, John Fante, Mark Twain
Book you've faked reading:
Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner. Started it three times, never got past halfway. Even bought the CliffsNotes for it.
Book you're an evangelist for:
What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg
Book you've bought for the cover:
I love a good cover, but I honestly can't think of a single book I bought because of its cover--okay, maybe a coffee-table book, say, Over Hawaii or something. That said, I've seen a lot of books with covers so ugly that I can't even look at them long enough to read the title. So, I do think it's important.
Book that changed your life:
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I'm guessing I'm not alone, here.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan. What a delight! Like meeting the greatest uncle ever (before he got depressed and developed a taste for gun metal).
Book you wish you'd written:
Don Quixote. Then I could run around telling editors I invented the novel!