#interviewproject2018

[kfan]

The March 2018 Version of Kevin Fanning

[previously]

This month's interview is the NYT By the Book interview, particular this one with Celeste Ng.

I love this series because it’s writers talking about books which is a favorite subject. But here’s the thing: I have been really hating reading so far this year. Books are just: not interesting to me. It’s like eating sand. These interviews are always all BOOKS BOOK BOOKS HEART EYES EMOJI but that’s not how I feel lately so here you go. Book depression, yay.

What books are currently on your nightstand?

In an attempt to get out of my reading rut I got a bunch of paperbook mysteries & romances recently. So I have It Takes a Coven by Carol Perry, Flight from Death by Yasmine Galenorn, and Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass. Also if nightstand is a metaphor I have Dorthy by Shaun Allen, and No Capes by Lizzie Siebert on my phone and I read them before bed. AND I just got my copy of Amy Spalding's The Summer of Jordi Perez, which I read last year and loved but it just came out and I'm going to read it again.

What’s the last great book you read?

Probably The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel. He just parked his car by the side of the road and walked into the woods and didn't come out for 20 years! I'm so jealous.

What influences your decisions about which books to read? Word of mouth, reviews, a trusted friend?

The cover, or is it by someone I like, or has someone I like mentioned it.

What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

Hammerhead by Nina MacLaughlin had all kinds of interesting things about carpentry in it. I will not apply any of it to my life but it was very interesting!

Which classic novel did you recently read for the first time?

Grace & the Fever by Zan Romanoff.

Whose writing today most inspires you?

Zan's. Megan Abbott. Alissa Nutting. Pilot Viruet. Marie Howe. Eli Goldstone. Chrissy Teigen. Ann Leckie.

What kinds of books bring you the most reading pleasure these days?

Nothing! That's the problem. I've been forcing myself to read whatever, or reread old books I used to love, but idk. Nothing.

Which genres do you avoid?

Self help. Business.

How do you like to read? Paper or electronic? One book at a time or several simultaneously? Morning or night?

Book or ebook are fine. I usually read a few chapters of a few different books before bed.

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

No one's going to be surprised about shit on my shelves. But you may be taken aback by the fact that they are in no way organized. There's just books on shelves, with no alphabetization or organizational schema. So it's really difficult to find a particular book when you want one. Like I wanted to tell you about my most favorite book of all time, which is a self-published book of southern salad recipes that my mother-in-law found at a tag sale in Illinois and gave to me. It's so fun to read. You’d love it. I wish I could show you! But I can't find it. Come over and help me look.

[kfan]

The January 2018 Version of Kevin Fanning

In 2014 I interviewed myself once a month using questions I recycled from celebrity interviews I found online. I'm doing it again this year. Here we go.

This month's interview is from an old Style Stalker interview with Doina Ciobanu, a  model/fashionista/world traveller I've been following online for years.

Please describe your personal stye in two sentences or less.

Being as comfortable as possible while still being somewhat presentable for the 'gram. But also recognizing my inability to know what colors go with what colors and my complete lack of interest in ironing. 

How does the city you live in inspire your day-today style?

I live in Cambridge, MA, which is not really known for its style or fashion. We've probably been done irreparable harm by being adjacent to Boston. Because the weather varies so wildly day to day form usually gives way to function. Layers are good, waterproof shoes, jackets with a lot of pockets, and it's difficult for me to leave the house without a backpack filled with things I may never actually need. I think of it a little in pre-apocalyptic terms: how far could I get in this outfit, carrying this amount of stuff, if shit suddenly got very real? I don't self-identify as an Everyday Carry person but...I think a lot about the things I'm carrying when I leave the house, so.

List some of your favorite current trends and why you appreciate them/how you are wearing them.

OK I'm not really up on any trends, at least as they apply to men's fashion. Does men's fashion even HAVE trends? I feel like the men's fashion cabal was like "How about gray sweatpants?" and then they all retired. I do like that we've moved back to skinny jeans with dark washes, I worried that baggy light blue jeans would be around forever.

Who are some of your style icons and why?

Rahul Kohli, Desus Nice, Michael B. Jordan and Kanye West for being not only hot but always very well put together. Ryan Reynolds but more for his hair than his clothes. Channing Tatum for being the kind of attractive where you never even notice what he’s wearing. 

Name one go-to piece in your closet and why.

THESE sneakers/boots from Doc Marten's. LOOK AT THEM. They look amazing, they’re extremely comfortable, they're durable, they go with just about anything, and because of their crazy-ass coloring they don't show signs of wear easily. It's difficult for me to convey exactly how much I love them, but listen: I love them.

What are your top five favorite places to shop?

Target, Macy's, TJ Maxx, H&M, Uniqlo. But also Newbury Street in Boston, because the Vans store is right across the street from the Doc Marten's store, it's heaven.

What are your favorite fashion sites/blogs?

There aren't really fashion sites/blogs anymore so I'll list my favorite stylista instagrams (in addition to the men listed above):

Lulo

Bella McFadden

Leigh Lezark

Zachary Domingo

Josephine Lee

rosedurr

Magda Majewska

Tokyo Fashion

and of course Doina

[kfan]

The February 2018 Version of Kevin Fanning

[previously]

This month's interview is a combination of questions from some of KernalMag's ME IRL interviews series.

First screenname: kid famine

Earliest memory of the Internet: The computer lab at JMU, 1996-ish? My roommate David showing me what "the internet" was and how to access it. I very specifically remember Webcrawler being the first site he showed me - a site that you use to search for the things you want to see! But what do you search for? I literally couldn't think of anything I wanted to see.

OR! Actually, now that I'm writing this. The school library earlier that year. I was asking a librarian for help with some research I was doing and she took me back to her office and sat me down and excitedly showed me this thing called Gopher, and how it could help me. I just nodded along, no idea what she was describing to me or how it was better than just looking up a book and then reading that book. I’m so turned on about it now, I wish I’d understood what was happening in the moment.

“Jif” of “gif”: gif

Favorite bizarre Wikipedia entry: List of animals with fraudulent diplomas

If the Internet didn’t exist: I think my writing would be very boring. I mean not to say it isn't anyway. But the me in the universe without the internet, without all the information and subcultures that it allowed me to easily access, is still trying to write stuff that emulates what he was reading in ~literary journals and hating every second of it.

Essential app: Peach and that's all I'll say about that.

Must-follow on Twitter: literally no one, Twitter is awful, stop looking at it

Favorite social network: 🍑

The Web would be better if: It was a public utility and there were better regulations around data tracking & collection. And if Facebook & Twitter went away.

The Internet in five years: One nation under Amazon.

What’s the next project you want to tackle? I'm not sure! I extremely need to finish my current project, No More Selfies before I think about it too much. But I'm thinking about a spin-off of Kim Kardashian: #BreakTheGame involving some popular side characters, it could be really fun palate cleanser.

What would you be do doing if the Internet didn’t exist? Reading books and playing video games but probably not writing as much.

The weirdest storyline you’ve ever written: I don't think any of them are that weird, in the grand scheme of things. Definitely I've gotten the most "WTF are you thinking?" comments from Kim Kardashian: Trapped in Her Own Game but people who manage to get past the first chapter seem to love it.

How is social media changing how you interact with fans? In some way it’s great, the accessibility and immediacy of it. I love the interactions with people who read and respond to my work, even if it isn’t always positive. But in some ways the accessibility makes it a little less meaningful. I got a very nice email recently from a reader who later became a kind of a friend, and... remember getting emails? Remember liking something you read enough to stop what you were doing and actually compose your thoughts into sentences about it, instead of RTing or faving something? I have to admit I miss those interactions a little bit. 

What was the most unexpected or surprising response to one of your projects? I start every project with exactly zero expectations so in some ways just the fact that I’m still here after 20 years, posting my random ideas on the internet for people to read and tell their friends about, is mind-blowing to me.

[kfan]

The May 2018 Version of Kevin Fanning

[previously]

kfan on on Style, Beauty & NYC

This month's interview is from this Galore Mag interview with social media superstar Ceilidh Joy aka lilmixedhunny

What is your full name?

Kevin Lee Fanning

Where are you from?

Technically CT but I've lived in Virginia and downstate Illinois and mostly I've lived in Cambridge and I don't want to talk about CT ever.

Brooklyn or Manhattan?

Manhattan! I guess? Brooklyn seems nice too. Idk gang. Whenever I go to NYC I get too stressed out about trying to make plans with people to even enjoy my time there.

Subway or uber?

Subway. And then Lyft.

What music are you into right now?

Janelle Monae, H.E.R., Khruangbin, Hyolyn.

What’s a day in the life of kfan?

Shower, eat, make sure the kids are eating something & aware of where they're supposed to be that day, then walk across the bridge to Boston, write for an hour, than work, then walk back, then make dinner, do the dishes, then watch a show, then go to bed, then read a chapter, then sleep.

What’s your go-to outfit?

Adidas sneakers, Calvin Klein underwear, Uniqlo jeans, Target t-shirt

What are your fave products?

SEE ABOVE. For not clothing things I like: Scrivener for writing, Etymotic for earbuds, Polar for seltzer.

What is your favorite thing to do in the city?

Just leave the house and start walking and wander around and see what I see.

How do you relax?

Watching many many TV shows online.

What’s one long-term goal of yours?

Idk! Do I have long-term goals? Just stay alive and write books and try not to be terrible, I guess.

How has 2018 treated you so far?

OK. Better than an extremely lot of people.

Congratulations on finishing No More Selfies, can you tell me a little about what’s going on with that?

Thank you yes I recently posted the final chapter of No More Selfies, the novel I've been writing serially for the past year and a half. It was a very fun experience and the feedback has been great and I'm very excited to be done with it so I can work on the next book.

Saw you in Ostrich Hammer video, how was that experience?

That was like 10 years ago! It kind of holds up though. It was fun. It was a nice experience. I'm glad I did it and I wish I had more opportunities to act like an idiot on camera.

[kfan]

The April 2018 Version of Kevin Fanning

[previously]

This month’s interview questions come from Vox’s 9 Questions for Roxane Gay.

What’s the first piece of media you consume every day?

Peach. Or Instagram sometimes.

Name a writer or publication you disagree with but still read.

I can't think of anything specific. I mean I guess still occasionally read Twitter and Facebook even though I vehemently disagree with the entire premise of both sites.

Who is the person who has most influenced the way you think?

My life partner RoRo who is extremely smart.

When was the last time you changed your mind about something?

I change my mind about everything all the time. There is not a lot on this planet that I have very strongly held opinions about.

What’s your worst intellectual habit?

I'm so irritated about this question I can't even figure out an answer! What's an intellectual habit even? I tried googling it but there wasn’t a Wikipedia page called List of Intellectual Habits.

What inspires you to learn?

I wouldn't say I'm inspired to do it, I would just say I'm open to it. Do I like to learn new things? Yes. Do I want to read books about everything? No.

What do you need to believe in order to get through the day?

That there's more good TV shows coming.

What’s a view that you hold but can’t defend?

Trying to accomplish things matters.

What book have you recommended the most?

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman