Reading with... Maxine the Dog's Parents, Alexandra Garyn and Bryan Reisberg

Alexandra Garyn and Bryan Reisberg are parents to Maxine the Fluffy Corgi, an Instagram-famous pup with more than a million followers. They are also the authors of the picture book Maxine Gets a Job, illustrated by Susan Batori (Random House Books for Young Readers). Garyn, Reisberg, and Maxine live in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Maxine can often be seen traveling, snugly tucked into a pack on Reisberg's back.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

Our book is all about finding your passion in life and doing what you love, as told through the eyes of an adorable fluffy corgi. What's not to love?!

On your nightstand now: 

Garyn: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I took a break from reading this to switch to baby books when I became pregnant and am excited to pick it back up now that our son has been born!

Reisberg: Oof, too many. I have this awful habit recently of buying books that I really want to read, reading about 100 pages, and then putting it down and not coming back to it. We just had a [human] kid, so I have these tiny spurts of reading. Right now, I'm through the first 100 pages of Jonathan Haidt's Anxious Generation and there's no telling when I'm going to return. But it's really good and terrifying. Yes, I also recognize the irony of a social media influencer reading that book.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Garyn: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. This story has always captivated me and broken my heart at the same time. 

Reisberg: The Jolly Postman by Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Janet Ahlberg. I loved taking the mail out of the envelope. I still love getting mail to this day, although mail is a bummer when you're an adult.

Your top five authors:

Garyn: John Steinbeck, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling (while I don't agree with her recently shared sociopolitical viewpoints, Harry Potter's impact on my childhood was undeniably profound), Chuck Palahniuk, Ottessa Moshfegh.

Reisberg: Philip Roth, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Toni Morrison, Jonny Sun.

Book you've faked reading:

Garyn: Ulysses by James Joyce. To be honest, I also faked reading Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Finnegans Wake. I am not a huge fan of the stream-of-consciousness writing style. 

Reisberg: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Need I say more?

Book you're an evangelist for:

Garyn: I have convinced almost everyone I know to read East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It is my favorite book of all time. I even wrote my senior thesis about it. It's part classic American novel and part soap opera... say less.

Reisberg: An Immense World by Ed Yong. Truly mind blowing to learn about how animals perceive the world.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Garyn: The Travelers by Regina Porter. I'm a sucker for the bright colors. Also, Circe by Madeline Miller, which ended up being one of my favorite books of 2018.

Reisberg: The Creative Act by Rick Rubin.

Book you hid from your parents:

Garyn: I don't think I ever did this. My parents were very open and were thrilled that I loved to read so much.

Reisberg: Private Parts by Howard Stern. I remember that it was hidden in a toiletry cabinet and there were naked pictures somewhere in there. That might've also been the book that my dad was hiding from my mom.

Book that changed your life:

Garyn: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. I was instantly hooked and devoured each book as it was released. I still revisit the series and reread it in its entirety every two years or so.

Reisberg: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight. I read that before my partner and I launched our pet company, Little Chonk.

Favorite line from a book:

Garyn: "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." --Albus Dumbledore, speaking the truth. These are words to live by.

Reisberg: "It's not about what it is, it's about what it can become." --The Lorax, Dr. Seuss

Five books you'll never part with:

Garyn: My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. I loved this book SO MUCH that after I finished it, I immediately read almost everything else she's ever written.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. This is easily my favorite of the series.

Rant: The Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk. This was my introduction to him as an author.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. Engaging, beautiful, and absolutely heartbreaking.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck. You can probably tell from my previous answer!

Reisberg: Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth. This is probably one of the most underrated Philip Roth novels I've ever read. Laugh out loud, real cringe. Just perfect.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind. After graduating from film school at NYU, I read this and spent the next year watching all the classics from the '60s-'70s, which was more film school than actual film school

Becoming Dr. Seuss by Brian Jay Jones. Reading this just felt like home. I don't know why. One of the warmest reading experiences I've ever had. Couldn't put it down.

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein. I read "The Meehoo with an Exactlywatt" about 100 times. This probably led to my love of comedy and specifically Abbott and Costello.

Maxine Gets a Job. I know this feels like a cop-out, but it's true. I know one day we'll have to say goodbye to Maxine, so I'm truly grateful to have this book that we'll have for the rest of our lives.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Garyn: The Shining by Stephen King. I can watch the movie over and over, but the ending of the book is so much better, and I wish I could read it for the first time again.

Reisberg: Easy Riders and Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind. Not really for the prose, but for the introduction to the American New Wave of the '70s which left an indelible mark on me as a young 20-something in New York City.

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