In Jenny Xie’s debut novel, “Holding Pattern,” an adult daughter moves back home to Oakland as her life implodes, and finds that her glum Chinese mother has suddenly bloomed, a role reversal that knocks their relationship and lives off kilter. Xie is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree for 2023, as well as a contributing writer for Architectural Digest, Apartment Therapy, and Dwell, where she was formerly the executive editor. Born in Shanghai, Xie grew up in Southern California and now lives in Brooklyn.
BOOKS: What are you reading?
XIE: Like a lot of people, I’m reading Hua Hsu’s memoir about his friend, “Stay True.” It’s gorgeous. It’s already made me cry several times. I’m awed by how much recordkeeping Hsu did at the time. The book also has its hooks in me because it’s so tied to Oakland. I’m starting “Raving” by McKenzie Wark, who is this amazing critical thinker and trans woman. She is in her sixties but is still very active in the Brooklyn underground rave scene. She does a great job articulating how those are spaces where queer bodies have a place to be free and expansive. I’ve also been reading Jenny Odell’s “Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock” for a while now. I’m reading that very slowly, which I think is what the book wants you to do. That’s changing how I think of time.
BOOKS: Do you often cry at books?
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XIE: More and more, and I’m not sure why. When I was younger, I didn’t cry at books as much even though I would feel deeply affected by them. A couple of things will really get me, such as anything about motherhood for one. I think that dovetails with me getting older, my parents getting older, everyone around me getting older. Both Sheila Heti’s “Motherhood” and Patricia Lockwood’s “No One Is Talking About This” got to me.
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BOOKS: What was your last best read?
XIE: I loved “Couplets: A Love Story” by Maggie Millner. It’s fiction and poetry. I heard her read it at this event called “Tables of Contents,” which puts on a series of dinner events where three authors read and then three courses are paired with their readings. It’s based around what food unlocks for these authors.
BOOKS: Do you have a lot of design books?
XIE: I get sent a lot of design books to review. One of my favorite publishers is Gestalten in Berlin. They do beautiful, beautiful books, which are themed on types of homes and design, such as desert hideaways or coastal homes.
BOOKS: What kind of books did you have in your house growing up?
XIE: My parents weren’t big readers and they didn’t have books, but my mom took me to the library all the time. We didn’t have a ton of money and it was a good way to kill time. I was so worried that I would read all the books in the library, and then I’d be done. I had no idea they kept publishing new books. Then my mother explained to me how it worked. I imagined the librarians in the back scribbling furiously. I thought they were the ones who wrote the new books.
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BOOKS: Do you have any design tips for how to organize books?
XIE: I think a shelf just of books looks too dense and overwhelming. If you turn a couple of the books to the side or leave space for knickknacks, that opens it up. I like styling a bookcase so it looks sculptural. Sometimes I like to make piles of books in places that will prompt me to pick them up or just to remind me of my favorite reads. I’m also a sucker for the Story Bookcase, those minimalist steel shelves that taper up to the top. It looks like a floating stack of books.
BOOKS: What are some bookshelf design faux pas you’ve seen?
XIE: I’ve seen people but their books spine in so all that is facing out are the ends of pages. It makes for a tan wall. That’s bonkers. How would you ever find a book?