The book I am currently reading
An advanced copy of The White Devil’s Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco’s Chinatown by Julia Flynn Siler.
The book that changed my life
I can’t really say. Maybe I am a bit too militant about detachment, but every time I love a book, my heart breaks for a few weeks, I tell a few people, and then I erase it from my mind. It’s the only way I can move on.
The book I wish I’d written
Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita. It would be fascinating to see how it would be received by the public if its author were female.
The book that is most underrated
I really think that woman who wrote those Harry Potter books should get some acclaim.
The last book that made me cry
I don’t think I’ve ever cried reading a book. But I did have an existential crisis reading Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting in primary school. It’s about a family that lives for ever.
The last book that made me laugh
I haven’t been reading very funny stuff lately, but I think I may have wanted to laugh while I was reading Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint a few years ago.
The book I couldn’t finish
So many. The stack by my bedside has broken through the ceiling.
The book I’m ashamed not to have read
People can try to shame me for not reading a certain book, but I will not be shamed. We all have our proclivities!
My earliest reading memory
It was a book in kindergarten that I didn’t respect. What fascinated me was the spelling of the word “young”.
My comfort reading
Texts from my mother.
The book I give
You Are Having a Good Time by Amie Barrodale. It’s one of my favourite short story collections.
• My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh is shortlisted for this year’s Wellcome book prize. The winner is announced on 1 May.