Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how).
Getting older has complicated this. I used to read in bed at night but now it’s a whole production of reading glasses, electronic devices, sufficient lighting, not disturbing my husband next to me. Now, I usually read in the afternoon, having hopefully gotten most of my work done in the morning. I am lucky that I work from home so I usually eat lunch, and then instead of taking the recommended postprandial walk, I go to my bed, read, and sometimes drift into a delicious and life-affirming 15-minute nap. When I’m very into a book, I read continuously: brushing my teeth, getting dressed, in the Uber. The environment doesn’t matter at all.
Also a note: I can listen to podcasts but I cannot listen to novels. I was trying to change this and was listening to a novel while on a walk and when I got home, I realized one of my earbuds was gone and I hadn’t even realized that the book had stopped!
What was it like writing an episode of “Expats,” the series based on your novel?
It was a great experience, mostly because of the people involved. Nicole Kidman is an extraordinary actor, of course, and her imprimatur moves things along magically. Lulu Wang, the creator, showrunner and director, assembled an all-female writers room (it is somewhat a theme of my life that I have only worked with women) and I found a newly humane way to be a writer. I’m so used to wrestling with my process alone. The idea that you could collaborate with others and go out for boba tea and work together to create was quite revelatory. However, it is absolutely mandatory that you are willing to give up creative control. I told Lulu that her beautiful show and my novel are like cousins: definitely related but wholly different beings.
You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
The writers I read on repeat growing up: Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Agatha Christie. I learned more about people and life from their books than in any classroom or workplace.
