Welcome to the Book Marks Questionnaire, where we ask authors questions about the books that have shaped them.
This week, we spoke to My Dark Vanessa author Kate Elizabeth Russell.
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Book Marks: First book you remember loving?
Kate Elizabeth Russell: Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume. I remember at one point I left my copy outside in the rain and after it dried out, the book was sort of lopsided and the paper so brittle it cracked when I turned the pages. It was well-loved, like a favorite stuffed animal.
BM: Favorite re-read?
KER: Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson.
BM: What book do you think your book is most in conversation with?
KER: Lolita might be the most obvious answer, but I’m going to say Tiger, Tiger by Margaux Fragoso.
BM: A book that blew your mind?
KER: Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann, an absolutely perfect novel.
BM: Last book you read?
KER: Exquisite Mariposa by Fiona Alison Duncan. I loved it!
BM: A book that made you cry?
KER: Know My Name by Chanel Miller.
BM: What book from the past year would you like to give a shout-out to?
KER: Marilou Is Everywhere by Sarah Elaine Smith was one of my favorite reads of 2019. Such a smart, strange, beautiful novel.
BM: Classic book you hate?
KER: Portnoy’s Complaint.
BM: Classic book on your To Be Read pile?
KER: Bear by Marian Engel. Though it’s only still “to be read” because I keep waiting to find it in a used bookstore. I could order a copy, but I really want to find it myself.
BM: Favorite book of the 21st century?
KER: Heroines by Kate Zambreno. Really, anything by Kate Zambreno.
BM: Book(s) you’re reading right now?
KER: Ghost Of by Diana Khoi Nguyen, Talking Animals by Joni Murphy, and for the past couple months I’ve been slowly making my way through the diaries of Marie Bashkirtseff.
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Kate Elizabeth Russell was born and raised in eastern Maine. She holds an MFA from Indiana University and a PhD from the University of Kansas. My Dark Vanessa is her first novel.
Kate Elizabeth Russell’s My Dark Vanessa is out tomorrow from William Morrow.
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