Who is Coming to 702WI?
Meet Min Jin Lee
702WI: What book(s) changed your life?
Min Jin Lee: Middlemarch by George Eliot and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
702WI: What book(s) are coming out this year that you’re looking forward to reading?
MJL: Burning Girl by Claire Messud and Sid Sanford Lives! by Daniel Ford
702WI: What books are currently stacked next to your bed/on your desk/in your pile-to-read?
MJL: A Dream Between Two Rivers by K.L. Pereira and easily about twenty others.
702WI: What book did you most recently recommend to someone else?
MJL: Chief Engineer by Erica Wagner
702WI: What was your favorite book when you were a child?
MJL: Betsy & Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace
702WI: Who are your favorite writers?
MJL: George Eliot, G. Flaubert, Edith Wharton, Erica Wagner, Charlotte Bronte, James Baldwin, Ann Patchett, Tolstoy, Meg Wolitzer, Toni Morrison, Junot Diaz, Shelley Fisher Fishkin, and Sinclair Lewis
702WI: Do you commonly use a word or phrase that is specific to a place you lived/from childhood/from family that you don’t hear often in day-to-day conversation?
MJL: Gosaeng: it means suffering in Korean. You asked.
702WI: What book/s could you never part with? Think “stranded-on-a-desert-island” books.
MJL: The Bible. Really.
702WI: Were you ever embarrassed about a book you loved?
MJL: Nope.
702WI: What fictional character do you most identify with? Why?
MJL: None. I know. Weird.
702WI: Do you have a favorite musician or genre of music?
MJL: Not really. If I had to say, it might be Glenn Gould, classical (esp. piano) or Chet Baker or Helen Merrill (jazz). I like some hip hop, R&B, pop, gospel, and rock, too, though, but I am pretty ignorant about music.
702WI: Is there a creator who is doing something you find amazing?
MJL: God.
702WI: What do you wish you knew more about?
MJL: Genetics.
702WI: Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
MJL: Robin Williams.
702WI: Vinyl, cassette, CD or digital? Typewriter, notebook, tablet or computer? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or none of the above? Sweet or savory?
MJL: Digital; computer; Insta; savory.
702WI: What is your most meaningful place?
MJL: Queens, NY
702WI: What’s your favorite bookstore?
MJL: In NYC, the Strand and the Corner Bookstore.
702WI: Can you share a favorite line from a creative work (book/play/film/song)?
MJL: “Don’t mind if I fall apart, there’s more room in a broken heart.” (Carly Simon)
702WI: What do you enjoy most about doing a reading or talking about your book?
MJL: I love Q&A. I know. Weird.
702WI: What is something you know about or have heard about Madison or Wisconsin?
MJL: I want to go to the Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Co.
Read about Min's new book, Pachinko