Jami Attenberg
Jami Attenberg
detail eats eye favorite food
What a character eats is a detail - like eye color or a favorite song. But food is also our lifeblood.
smoking challenges quitting
You can quit smoking, and never have to have a cigarette again to survive. But with food, it is a daily challenge.
reading giving kind
I love doing readings. I could really give a crap about reviews. It's kind of about the readers.
writing sitting-still wish
I wish I could write while I'm on the road but it never works for me. I need to be sitting still.
book wine clubs
What's the point of having a book club if you don't get to eat brownies and drink wine?
america bookstores treasure
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is a breezy, big-hearted treat, especially if you've ever wondered about the inner workings of America's national treasures--neighborhood bookstores.
ocean giants possibility
An ellipsis is a giant ocean of possibilities.
notebook morning thinking
What I try very hard to do is have an hour or so in the morning when I leave the house and don't have my phone with me. I'll go sit in a cafe and read and handwrite in my notebook and not be facing a screen. My head will be clear. I will be able to hear myself think. Because honestly for the rest of the day it's just screens, screens, screens.
writing emotional historical-novels
I've been told by people who write historical novels that you just sort of write the emotional truth first, the story at the core, and then you go back and research it at the end.
updates whim my-own
In 1998, I started a blog, something I could control very easily and update at my own whim.
crazy writing epic
I'd love to be able to write crazy epic plots. I'm working on it.
book criticism female
Maybe just as many women writers as male writers could be billed as the next great American writer by their publisher. Maybe book criticism sections could review an equal amount of female and male writers. Maybe Oprah could start putting some books by women authors in her book club, since most of her audience is women.
agents beauty believe curious estate growing industrial neighbors offense street
No offense to Bushwick, where all my neighbors greeted me on the street and there is a growing arts community and a curious beauty to its industrial zone, but Bushwick is no Williamsburg, even if the real estate agents would have you believe it is.
bookstores clearly dig friendly love people totally upfront work
It should be said upfront that I totally dig people who work in bookstores and libraries. They love books, and I love books, and that is all I really need to know. If they are friendly to me, then we are clearly soul mates.