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Marvel Comics as Penguin Classics? Elda Rotor Heard a ‘Hell Yeah’
What books are on your night stand? On my proverbial night stand — because we don’t have space in our N.Y.C. apartment for an actual night stand — are “The Gilda Stories,” by Jewelle Gomez, “There There,” by Tommy Orange, “Dictee,”by Theresa Hak …
What books are on your night stand?
On my proverbial night stand — because we don’t have space in our N.Y.C. apartment for an actual night stand — are “The Gilda Stories,” by Jewelle Gomez, “There There,” by Tommy Orange, “Dictee,”by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, “Winter Solstice,” by Nina MacLaughlin, “Parable of the Talents,” by Octavia Butler, “Playlist for the Apocalypse,” by Rita Dove, “Ninetails,”by Sally Wen Mao, and a sprinkle of Harry Crews.
How do you organize your books?
Poetry has its own section. I have shelves of books I worked on at Oxford University Press, and shelves for series I originated for Penguin Classics. One shelf holds some of the last remaining copies of New Digressions, a literary magazine I published with friends in the early ‘90s. The rest are a mix of books I heard are really good, books I probably will never read but can’t give away because they are gifts from favorite people, and old editions of Penguin Classics.
What’s the last great book you read?
“Stay True,” by Hua Hsu. When we dropped off our son back at college and then visited my own college best friend who lives nearby, I was finishing the book and so much resonated about the various definitions of friendship he explored.
What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?
“Middlemarch.” Too many people I admire love that book.
What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
“The Beatles Complete Chord Songbook” (my husband’s go-to) and “The Menopause Manifesto,”asubject my friends and I talk about the most.
What are the qualities that make you good at your job?
I get real geek joy out of learning something new.I have great respect for archival work and for writers and scholars recovering texts. I value a sense of humor and think that it helps the workday, especially when people assume we are overly serious about great literature.
