BEST AUTHOR BEST : CRISTINA RIVERA GARZA.

 

'' I love to fall asleep with a book nearby, especially on my chest,'' says the author of '' Autobiography of Cotton,'' a cross-genre novel, '' Dreaming and reading merge in beautiful, uncompromising ways.''

.-  What books are on your night stand?

I'm traveling, and I travel light. Gerald Murnane's '' Landscape With Landscape, '' and '' Malacria, '' a novel by Elisa Diaz Castelo, one of my favorite Mexican poets.

.-  What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?

An autographed first edition of Truman Capote's '' Handcarved Coffins,'' which a friend found at a thrift store in Paris and gave it to me as a gift.

.-  What is your favorite fictional hero or heroine?

Virginia Woolf's Orlando.

.-  Your favorite antihero or villain?

The She-Devil in '' The Life and Loves of a She-Devil,'' by Fay Weldon.

.-  How do you organize your books?

I use a divide-and-conquer scheme in my office : history and social sciences on one wall ; literature in Spanish and Literature in English on two different walls.

Large windowpanes open the fourth wall to the sky.

I further divide them into regions and eras, and then arrange them in alphabetical order.

At home, I have placed philosophy in the living room, literature in the studio, poetry in the main bedroom. Though I've tried, these books actively resist alphabetical [ or any ] order.

.-  How have your reading tastes changed over time?

I was such a nerd. As a young reader, I prepared long lists of books, which I marked off little by little, with great patience. I now have resigned myself to the fact that, as much as I try, I won't read it all.

Likewise, I have had time to confirm that what remains with me after reading so many books is precious and scant - a couple of passages, some dialogue, an atmosphere that I yearn to live in once again.

I read voraciously still, but at a slower pace.

Most importantly, I now give up on books I don't like without guilt. Sounds easy, but it took me a whole life to come to terms with this.

.-  Describe your ideal reading experience.

I love to fall asleep with a book nearby, especially on my chest. Dreaming and reading merge in beautiful, uncompromising ways.

The Publishing continues to Part [ 2 ]. The World Students Society thanks Scott Heller and The New York Times.