Answers from Jessica Anya Blau, author of the wonderful forthcoming novel The Summer of Naked Swim Parties
What was the best book of the year?
The last book I read that I loved and couldn’t stop reading was Vendela Vida’s Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name. It was haunting—a very lonely book. I wanted to call the protagonist, tell her I’d be her friend and buy her a thick, fluffy down coat to warm her up (most of the story takes place in temperatures well below zero).
What was the best movie?
I really liked No Country for Old Men. But I had to turn my head a few times to avoid the tremendous violence. It was easier to hear the violence than to see it. Tommy Lee Jones is OLD in this movie, but he’s still outrageously sexy. He has bags under his eyes that make him look like a hound dog. He has cracks in his face that look the right length and width to swipe a credit card. And, honestly, I don’t mind that one bit.
What was the best song/album?
Lately I’ve been listening to I’m Not There, which is various artists doing Bob Dylan songs. Some are fabulous and I play them over and over again, some I skip every time they come up. I’ve been downloading French pop songs because French pop singers tend to enunciate and I can actually understand what they’re singing. And I’ve been downloading Serge Gainsbourg—stuff from decades ago, because I love how he sort of growls when he sings. And, of course, there’s nothing better than when he doesn’t sing at all and he just talks—as if he KNOWS he’s the sexiest Jewish Frenchman in town.
Favorite Blog?
I tend not to read them. I try to stay away from the computer other than email and writing. I’m afraid I’ll spiral down into some no-exit hours-long computer world where I’ll be shopping for shoes, reading about Britney’s pregnant sister (my very young daughter informed me of the mother-to-be), and googling old boyfriends or people I made out with in college.
Who was the person of the year?
My mother, whom I call Mum. She manages to have a great big laugh every day in spite of a year that should have beat the smile off her face.
What is your New Year’s resolution?
My resolution is to forever give up the idea of having a nose job and to stop taking a black magic marker and fixing my nose in photos to see what I’d look like if I did have a nose job. The idea for the rhinoplasty has been in my head since fifth grade when Paul B. said, “Jessica would be cute if her nose weren’t so big.” That is an EXACT quote by the way. So, instead of dreaming of a perkier schnozz, I will celebrate my nose! I will turn my protruding conk toward my big-nose role models (Sofia Coppola, Sarah Jessica Parker . . . there are so few) and cheer my sisterhood with them!
** Bonus question: Any predictions for 2008?
My prediction for 2008 is that I will not get a nose job.
