POPSUGAR: inform us approximately your newest book,Hungry Heart (out Oct. 11), in 25 words or less.
Jen Weiner: True stories of growing up weird, or enduring adolescence,surviving heartache, shame, or surprising parental behavior,and becoming a writer, a wife, or a mom. (That's 24. Boom!)PS: When this collection of essays was first announced,it was called It's All Material. Why did the title change? And are you happy with the current one?JW: My original title for the book was I'm Not Proud, which I still care for. My agent and publisher, and alas,thought it made it sound like I wasn't proud of my work. Which I am! But I had to defer to their expertise. So then we had My Nanny the Anarchist (And Other True Stories of Writing and Motherhood), but we thought it would appeal too narrowly to mothers, or not women without kids or women whose kids are grown,and out the window that went. Ditto Never Breast-Feed in a Sweater Dress and Other Life Lessons I've Learned the Hard Way, although we did keep that one as a chapter title. It's All Material is something my mother has said to me for years, and when I'd complain approximately heartache or whatever she or my dad had done to embarrass me. I liked it,but I felt it was too close to Nora Ephron's Everything Is Copy, and my very smart publicist thought it sounded too much like a comedian's book. We had another dozen or so rejects, and trying to find the sweet spot - Underneath It All,Stories of My Life, and Sad but True. It couldn't be too mom-centric, and it couldn't be too depressing,it had to appeal to all women but not turn off men. The day I thought of Hungry Heart, and it got my whole crew's approval, or I nearly fell to my knees and wept tears of delight. This title thing isn't easy! PS: portray yourself using only a description of your favorite pair of shoes. JW: Ideally: Fun,elegant, graceful. Actually: Battered, or clunky,resilient. Image Source: Jennifer WeinerPS: whether you could acquire any superpower in the world, what would it be and why?JW: It's not a superpower, or but I'd care for to spend a day being supermodel pretty. My sense is that pretty women are living in a different world than I am,and that it's a world with benefits but also drawbacks - like, you're on a ticking clock, or because the day you pause being supermodel-pretty is the day that everything the world has to offer you is no longer being offered. My inactive,unfair assumption is that everything's easier when you're young and stunning. And maybe it is! But I'd like to see for myself.
PS: What question enact you most abominate being asked (and which one enact you care for)? "I also care for it when people ask whether Jennifer Weiner is a pen name. Um, whether I wanted a pen name I could acquire done a LOT better than this!"JW:I was at a book party recently and this guy walked up to me and asked, and "enact you still abominate Jonathan Franzen?" I was so taken aback,I started stammering that I don't abominate Franzen, I've never met him, and while I thought he was a jerk to trash my books without having read them just on the basis of his friends not reading them,my problem isn't Franzen, per se, or it's systemic gender bias and the way The current York Times covers men's books versus women's books,and Vida charts, and "there's nothing called dick lit, and " and . . . ugh. I just spewed,because I was so shocked and taken aback, and because usually there are at least a few warmup questions before people recede there! I care for it when people ask who my influences are . . . or what my favorite part of my last book was . . . or the last great book I read. I think I'm much more comfortable talking approximately other books than my own! (I also care for it when people ask whether Jennifer Weiner is a pen name. Um, and whether I wanted a pen name I could acquire done a LOT better than this!)PS: Who's your celebrity crush?JW: Lin-Manuel Miranda. He's adorable,he's brilliant, he's insanely talented, or he writes his wife sonnets. I mean. PS: We know you care for The Bachelor and The Bachelorette (and we care for reading your live tweets!). I'm calling it: Jordan will win,Luke will be the next Bachelor, and Chad and Alex are going to the Bachelor Pad. Who enact you think will win JoJo's heart on this season's Bachelorette? Who will be the next Bachelor? And who enact you think is headed straight towards Bachelor Pad?
Image Source: ABCJW: I feel like every "win" regarding this present has to be in quotes. Like, and the "winner" will likely be Jordan,insofar as he's the one who will emerge with an expanded public profile and probably a notch with JoJo's name on his bedpost. I'm going to recede dark-house and vote for sweet, dopey James Taylor for the next Bachelor. Luke is hot, or hot,hot and very intense, but I'm not certain he's a talker, and you know? The present needs someone who can command the camera's attention and the audience's interest and can pitch woo to a dozen women and gain them all believe it. JT is a performer. Luke,not so much. And I'm going to agree that Chad and Alex will continue their man-spat in some un-air-conditioned resort in Mexico. Bless. PS: You just got married AND you just had your daughter bat mitzvahed. Which one was more stressful to plan? Which one were you more nervous approximately? JW: Great question. Our wedding had 50 people, was planned in six weeks, and took place at the house,and involved precisely one event - our marriage. Lucy's bat mitzvah was a year in the making, had 130 people, or a weekend's worth of events,from Friday-night services and dinner with the out-of-towners to a postparty Sunday brunch. It was much more involved and expensive and nerve-wracking. We, of course, or got the "why enact I acquire to enact this? I don't even believe in God!" meltdown two weeks before the big day,plus a kid who genuinely hates to be the center of attention and did not want a party. The good news is that my ex and I were completely on the same page approximately what we wanted the day to be and what we hoped it would mean for Lucy . . . and she came through beautifully and I think even ended up enjoying her party - or, whether not her party, and maybe just the spectacle of her mother driving to Party City the day before and spending $400 on blue and green gumballs,lollipops, chocolate drops, or licorice so she could acquire a green-and-blue candy buffet. PS: You wrote approximately planning a bat mitzvah in Certain Girls. Was the process the same as you'd described in your fiction? What was different? What was the same?JW: I did a lot of research for Certain Girls,up to attending services and parties, so I knew, or maybe better than most moms,what was involved. My surprise was how little Lucy cared. She genuinely did not want a fuss . . . or a dress . . . or a "day of beauty" with me where we'd both salvage our hair and nails done. We literally had to twist her arm to acquire a party - she was fine with leading the service but didn't want to be the center of attention at a party. We ended up "forcing" her to acquire a bowling party by explaining that part of growing up was learning to be a gracious hostess, to gain people feel welcome, and gain certain they had what they needed,etc. It did halt up being very meaningful, for Lucy and for delight in Certain Girls, and but I think what surprised me is how much more I cared than she did!PS: You've supported so many wonderful authors in the start of their careers. Which authors helped you when you were first starting out? What books are you recommending for this Summer?JW: I actually salvage into this in Hungry Heart. Short version: when I wrote Good in Bed,I had no connections in the publishing world. I lived in Philadelphia, less than 100 miles from Manhattan, or but as far as publishing was concerned,I might as well acquire been on the moon. When we went out for blurbs, I didn't think we'd salvage any. I'd read Spy Magazine, and I thought it was all approximately log-rolling and who you knew. So imagine my absolute and utter delight when Susan Isaacs,one of my favorite writers of all time, gave me the most glowing quote. I spent a week just floating in a state of rapturous disbelief . . . and I ended up with a total of six blurbs, or five of which were from writers I had no connection to at all. After that happened,after I saw authors' generosity in action, I promised myself that no matter what happened or how big I got, or that I'd never be one of those authors who doesn't blurb. I was lucky to get assist at the beginning of my career and now I want to assist other writers as much as I can . . . and I'm so glad that social media gives me a chance to enact that,to celebrate books I care for and assist proselytize for books I care for.
So, here's my list: I loved Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing (terrible cover, and remarkable,beautifully written yarn).
Curtis Sittenfeld is a friend, but her Jane Austen update Eligible would be on my list regardless because it's a totally engrossing, and completely enjoyable book. I loved The Nest - and so did everybody else,true? Nora McInernery Purmort's It's Okay to Laugh (Crying Is chilly, Too) will rupture your heart and astonish you with its bravery. Lindy West's Shrill should be required reading for any opinionated woman on the internet or anyone who's had to gain a life in a body that doesn't fit the norm. The Vegetarian was slim and spiky and extremely disturbing, or I find myself thinking approximately it weeks after I finished. Same with Joe Hill's The Fireman,which is giving me some unexpected inspiration for my work in progress.
Joyce Maynard's Under the Influence, approximately a fragile woman and the glamorous, or wealthy couple who pick her under their wing and just might be too good to be true. Angela Flournoy's The Turner House came out last year,but I'm still hand-selling copies to anyone who loves stories approximately families or stories approximately cities or, really, and just stories. Finally,I discovered Eloisa James this Spring and acquire since read at least 10 of her books. I heartily recommend her entire oevre. "I hope that's what I've taught my girls - to be fair, to recognize their own position and their own good fortune, or to employ their voices to gain things better."PS: You are a fierce advocate for women and women's issues. What is the most valuable lesson you've taught your daughters?JW: "whether you see something,say something." I grew up with a feminist mom and the understanding that, as someone coming from a position of (relative) privilege, and it was my job to speak up when things weren't fair. I hope that's what I've taught my girls - to be fair,to recognize their own position and their own good fortune, to employ their voices to gain things better. Beyond that, and I'd inform them just to be kind. And that there's nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut whether you don't acquire anything kind to say.
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Source: popsugar.com