Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Jackie Lee Morrison, co-host of new lit podcast, Served With Rice.
The book I wish I’d written
You know, I’m not sure there’s ever a book I really wish I’d written because I love reading so much and I know how hard the writing part is! (You can tell I’m on draft fifty billion of my own book from this sentence alone.) Recent(ish) books I’ve read that have absolutely blown me away, though (and authors whom I aspire to be as good as one day): The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (obsessed with Tama, and Catherine in general), Kurungaituku by Whiti Hereaka (I read this in one sitting and then just stared at the wall for five minutes), The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (this was another fever read – it’s so complex and intricate, and the payoff is killer. I’m absolutely astounded by the workings of Cat’s brain – she writes under several pseudonyms, one of which is Claire North, but we actually went to school together! She was in the year above me and was always brilliant).
Everyone should read
Middle grade fiction because it’ll remind you why you fell in love with reading. I’m a huge fan of MG books. I think as we get older, we lose a little bit of that sense of wonder, and it’s so easy to get tied up in the humdrum of adulthood – bills to pay, jobs to work, children (in my case: cats) to raise – but with MG books, this is the age range where the magic is still very much alive, and sometimes, I need to remember exactly how that feels.
The book I want to be buried with
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This is the only book I’ve ever read multiple times. I remember vividly the first time I read it: I was 18, in my sixth form common room at school during a free period, lying on one of the sofas. I think I’d found the book on the shelves at home – either it was my brother’s or my father’s copy – and decided to read it without knowing anything about it. When I got to the end and discovered the twist, I gasped out loud and sat up, gripping the book and looking around the room like a mad woman, searching for someone to talk to about it. I’ve never read anything else that gave me that same high, and I suppose I’ve been chasing it ever since.
The first book I remember reading by myself
I’m sure there were other books before this point, but The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy are the ones that have stuck with me. I remember bringing one to a primary school interview when I was maybe six or seven and was changing schools. I had to read a passage out loud to the headmistress, after which she quizzed me about it. What was said in that interview, I can’t remember, but clearly, I said something right because I ended up being accepted.
Utopia or dystopia
Dystopia, but always with a bit of hope. I often think of the advice Elizabeth Knox gave me when I was doing her World-Building Course at the IIML, which was that writing is just giving your characters problems and then figuring out how to solve them (apologies, Elizabeth, I’ve probably paraphrased that horribly), and I think dystopian fiction is a great example of this, only the problem is “the world is fucked” and the how to solve it bit is, uh, maybe not going to be solved by the end of the book… but perhaps there will be hope for the next generation to learn from the previous.
Fiction or nonfiction
I always gravitate towards fiction but I find that at literary festivals I’m most interested in the nonfiction sessions. I’m fascinated by the brain’s ability to take all the “what ifs” of the world and create universes and lore from those questions, but I’m also constantly astounded by the intricacies of the world we live in, and love reading about other people’s lives. Maybe I’m just nosy.
It’s a crime against language to
Please, I’m begging you: stop furrowing and raising brows.
The book that haunts me
The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones. I’m a big fan of DWJ and have read a large portion of her collection but nothing — and I do mean nothing — has ever haunted me as deeply as The Homeward Bounders. It’s so bleak and terrible, and I adore and am deeply scarred by it (and I read it for the first time as an adult).
The book that made me cry
Honestly, I cry very easily, but a book that really hit hard for me recently was When Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei Yin. Emma’s my Hong Kong author sister (and one of my co-hosts for our podcast) and her book is about three women and their fight for survival during WWII in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong. The book is beautiful and devastating, but I think it resonated with me especially because of my Hong Kong roots, so I ugly-cried my way through the whole thing, texting Emma messages like, “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME,” to which she just replied with a smiley-winky emoji, and I cried some more.
The book that made me laugh
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. God, I love this book so much. This was another one that had been my father’s or my brother’s, found on the bookshelves at home. I read it in snatches on the Tube in London going to and from school and friends’ houses and remember shaking and snorting, trying to hold my laughter in, while all the other commuters tried to ignore me.
Best thing about reading
Getting into such a flow state that the rest of the world disappears and you’re fully immersed in the book, until you look up and realise you’ve not eaten, drunk any water, or peed in hours, and it’s now dark outside. Some would say it’s ADHD time blindness, I say it’s magic.
Best food memory from a book
I keep thinking about Chocolat by Joanne Harris, a book I read years ago and have never really forgotten because of its descriptions of chocolate – despite not being a chocolate lover! Special mention as well to the iconic Turkish delight scene in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, another one that’s stuck with me through the years. All these sweets in literature – is it any surprise I was a pastry chef for a significant portion of my adult life?
Best place to read
On my sofa at home with a cup of tea, my cats curled up next to me. I also used to really love reading on the Tube or trains (in the days before smart phones and when I actually had to commute quite a bit) – just something about the movement is very conducive to reading. I was always disappointed when I had to get off at the next stop and had just got to a really good part in my book.
What I’m reading right now
I’m currently reading Melaleuca by Angie Faye Martin – one of our upcoming guests on Served With Rice, the literary podcast focused on PoC authors and book professionals across Australia and Aotearoa that I host with two Asian author friends in Aussie. The poddy’s been so much fun, plus I get to exercise my culinary chops by coming up with a dish inspired by our guest’s lives and work. It’s really the best of both worlds for me. I’m not sure what I’m making for Angie yet – guess you’ll have to tune into the podcast and see for yourself!
Served With Rice podcast is available to watch and/or listen and subscribe to online here.
