Jenna McCarthy: A Reading List for Aspiring Writers

I usually say “I’m an exotic dancer” because I like to make people uncomfortable. (I’m forty-seven; let’s just say the days where that might have been even a REMOTE possibility are far behind me.) When their discomfort peaks I’ll say, “I’m kidding. I’m an author.”

I have a three-foot stack of books on my nightstand at all times but I’m almost always reading either my own latest work-in-progress or an author friend’s book I’ve been asked to blurb.

My childhood was pretty long, so it’s hard to pick just one. My earliest book memory is Lady and the Tramp, of which I was apparently fond of walking around and quoting. “’I’ll wear no man’s collar,’ was his proud boast.” was my FAVORITE line. Early readers I still know by heart include Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff, Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel and probably half of the stories in Seven is Magic.

Thin. (Is that bad? I was a chubby kid and that was pretty much all I thought about.)

“Wow, she’s so skinny!” She’d also be ridiculously impressed that I FINALLY got something published after submitting a non-stop parade of short stories to Highlights magazine over the years and never hearing back.

I’d give myself my latest novel, Everything’s Relative, with a note that says, “Relax. Your first few jobs are going to suck, but eventually you’ll move to New York and have a fabulous and exciting career in magazines before relocating to the West coast, meeting a hot guy, having his babies and writing books full-time. This is your most recent. Not too shabby, huh?”

Always in bed, always at night, and in paper form over digital whenever possible.

It’s random but probably Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding. In my mind that book legitimized “chick lit” and made it a viable and commercial form.

Get used to rejection. It happens at every single step along the way. Agents will reject you; publishers will reject you; readers will reject you. And as painful as it is every time, it’s part of the process. When I’m feeling particularly annoyed by this I’ll go on Amazon and pick a favorite book at random—The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls or The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini or The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger—and then I’ll read all of the one-star reviews. It is enormously comforting to me to see that EVERYONE has haters, and that you really can’t please all of the people all of the time. The only thing you can do is keep going. If you’re dedicated and passionate and at least moderately skilled, you’ll find your audience.

My dad didn’t really read, with a single exception: The Call of the Wild by Jack London. He passed away fourteen years ago and just typing that gave me chills—as if he was standing behind me and smiling. I need to re-read it soon!

Way too many to count, but at the top of the list are The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, On Writing by Stephen King, Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis (I’m always shocked and horrified when people admit they haven’t read this and insist they remedy that immediately) or anything by Augusten Burroughs.

I enjoy both but probably fiction.

I don’t know. Is air important?!

I’m a little late on this one, but Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I just love her voice and I could not put that one down.

Real all the way.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai.

Not to sound narcissistic but I’d have to say my marriage book, If It Was Easy They’d Call the Whole Damn Thing a Honeymoon. That book led to a TED talk which led to a whole new career as a corporate speaker. If I said anything else I’d be lying.

I get deer-in-headlights when I’m asked this question because I just KNOW I’ll wish I said something different later. So I’ll just say yes, there are.

My family is taking a month long trip to Italy next summer so I’ll probably be brushing up on Roman history.

I sort of did write one, my “midlife manifesto” I’ve Still Got It, I Just Can’t Remember Where I Put It… but I jokingly-not-jokingly say all the time that my very last book is going to be titled In My Defense (because I start nearly every other sentence with that phrase for some reason).