"My earliest reading memory I recall lying in the bath, age seven or eight, reading the final page of Judy Blume's Starring Sally J Freedman As Herself, then turning to the novel's opening and beginning again. Memory is untrustworthy, but Blume is a genius who has that effect on her reader. My favourite book growing up We're always growing up; we're always choosing a new favourite. For me, once, this was Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy."
"My early writing education was just mimicry. And the first writer I remember imitating was Agatha Christie. How I wanted to write a perfect whodunit, with a stately home, a party of interesting people and a dead body. That's easier said than done. The authors I come back to There's no shortage of these Don DeLillo, Anita Brookner, Patrick Modiano, Philip Roth, Willa Cather."
Earliest reading memory involves lying in the bath at seven or eight, finishing Judy Blume's Starring Sally J Freedman As Herself and immediately starting again. Favourite books shifted over time from Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy to J.D. Salinger's Nine Stories, John Cheever, Lorrie Moore, Thomas Mann, and Don DeLillo. Encountering Salinger at thirteen inspired attempts at writing and belief in becoming a writer. Reading William Faulkner around sixteen revealed pleasure in difficulty and delight in language, not only story. Early writing practice was mimicry, starting with imitating Agatha Christie and aspiring to write elegant whodunits. Several contemporary novelists remain recurring influences.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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