Now it is Pete's Turn in the Hot Seat...Here is His Interview

Pete, what are you currently reading? 

I’m glad you asked that, Miki. I am currently reading Under Major Domo Minor by Patrick DeWitt. I loved his previous novel, Sisters Brothers, and so far I’m really enjoying this one too. His dark, edgy humor appeals to me and I can never tell where his story will go. His books are always surprising and fun.

What books are on the top of your To Be Read pile? 

I don’t know the title of it, but there is a new John Irving book on the horizon that I’ll be certain to read.  I’ve loved his novels since the days of The World According to Garp and The Hotel New Hampshire.

What is the first book you remember reading for fun? 

I remember reading  Semi-Tough by Dan Jenkins. I was quite the sports nut as a kid, and this book told the truth – warts and all – about what it means to be a professional football player.

What books have changed your life or had an impact on you? 

Although On the Road doesn’t quite resonate with me as a middle-aged guy, it did influence my younger self. As a young person without direction, it appealed to me because here were a bunch of guys also without direction, finding meaning in a life where you just took off in search of whatever was out there. I remember Kerouac describing seeing Denver rising up out of the plains. I took that same route many years later and felt a connection to the Beats, albeit in a minor way. I guess you have to find your own way in life no matter what your influences are.   

What are some of your favorite movie adaptations of a book?

 Anything by Somerset Maugham usually translated from a good book to good movie. Some I’ll mention are Of Human Bondage, The Painted Veil, The Razor’s Edge, and The Moon and Sixpence. He’ll always be one of my favorite authors.  

If you could have dinner with any literary character, which would it be?

I think Doc from John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday. I just think he was a swell guy, and we’d have a great time drinking ‘old tennis shoes’ together. We’d have to fight it out over Suzy however.