Jami Attenberg Can’t Wait to Find a Book She’s Inscribed at a Yard Sale

What books are on your night stand?

Right now a nice stack of poetry collections: Rosa Alcalá’s “You,” Zoë Hitzig’s “Not Us Now” and Tyree Daye’s “A Little Bump in the Earth.” I always keep an eye out for new collections at bookstores or at literary festivals. I save them for when life feels extra grim and then I’ll read a new one. Poetry does something wonderful to my brain that is different than the kind of wonderful thing prose does.

How do you organize your books?

I live in a small house and there’s only room for so much, so it’s more about what I keep versus what I do not. I am most likely to keep books my friends have written because I am fond of seeing their names on my shelves, and often I keep books that absolutely blow me away, but also sometimes I give those to people who I think would get something out of them. My love language is recommending or giving someone a book.

What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

I have read a dozen books or so about menopause in the past year (perhaps my favorite is Jancee Dunn’s “Hot and Bothered”), and I enjoyed learning how menopause only occurs in humans and five species of whales. In the whale world, these females are respected for their wisdom and become the leaders of their pods. Like, sign me up for whale life.

How do you sign books for your fans?

Just the letter J in a giant swoop and occasionally I will add an A if I am feeling up for it. I am happy anyone cares enough to ask, but I am also obsessed with those stories where people find someone’s book at a yard sale and they’re signed “To My Dear Darling Wife” or “To My Favorite Student.” I have begun to expect this will happen to me soon — but I am kind of living for that moment, too. Who will betray me first?

Describe your ideal reading experience.

When I get a good night’s sleep and then wake up early when the city is still quiet, and I do not read the news straightaway. Then I make a cup of coffee and sit in my big blue chair while the sun rises slowly through the window and my small dog sleeps quietly next to me while I read.

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What’s the last book you read that made you laugh?

Kristen Arnett’s “Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One,” which is out in March, is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read.