Omnivoracious: Amazon Asks: Jonathan Evison

Amazon Asks: Jonathan Evison

by Neal Thompson on September 14, 2012

[Evison is the author of the award-winning All About Lulu, and West of Here, an Amazon Best Book of the Month and Year. To learn about Evison's book tour training workout, scroll down and watch his new book trailer.]

Elevator Pitch for The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving?

As Stewart O'Nan described it: both a goofy road trip and a mission of atonement.

Favorite books?

Ask the Dust by John Fante
A Fan's Notes by Frederick Exley
The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Obsessed with?

Ping-Pong and British ales.

Memorable author moments?

The time I literally crapped my pants at an award ceremony. Also, the time a magazine sent a journalist to come interview me at a bar, and I had to send the poor thing home in an ambulance.

Talent or superpower you’d like?

The ability to not need sleep. I'd have an extra four or five hours a day to write and play ping-pong.

What's next?

A novel called Harriet Chance, about an 87 year-old-widow who takes an Alaskan cruise.

What do you collect?

Vinyl. I bought a giant old Zenith Hi-fi from the ‘60s for my man-cave, and lately I've been scouring the thrift stores for LPs-- everything from old country to 80s punk, along with some unique gems, like Christmas with Colonel Sanders.

Last dream you remember?

My nephew and I were cruising around double on a mini-bike looking for somewhere we were supposed to be. The problem was, we didn't know where we supposed to be, so we kept stopping and asking people. One guy gave us a shrimp cocktail.

Psyched about?

That my wife and I are adding a baby girl to the brood in December!

Stressed about?

That my wife and I are adding a baby girl to the brood in December!

Author crush?

It's a guy crush. I just dig Willy Vlautin, he's such a sweet, down-to-earth dude, and I like drinking beer with him.