Miranda July Recommends the Best Way to Procrastinate

Miranda July’s new novel All Fours was published last week, so we asked her a few questions about when she writes, what she reads, and the best way to procrastinate.

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What time of day do you write?

In an ideal world, first thing in the morning. It should be: wake up,  go to the bathroom, splash water on face, get back in bed with computer, write dream down, open the book document, keep on writing until hungry. Can’t think of a day that’s started like that anytime recently.

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Which books do you reread?

I read Alice Munro’s stories again and again. When you get to the phrase “too much joy” in All Fours, know that this was my acknowledgment of her gift to me as a writer and to this book specifically. She died at a wonderfully old age on  the day All Fours came out, which of course means nothing, except that I cried in a cab in NY in a moment when I had expected to only feel wonderful. Which is very Munro.

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How do you decide what to read next?

I almost always immediately order any book a friend mentions loving. I order it as a way to remember the book recommendation basically. And then there it is, in front of my face, so I read it. It’s a little like eating food because it’s there. In fact eating and reading are very tied to me — I know you’re supposed to be in your body when you eat, just focus on chewing, but if I’m alone I read with every meal and even sometimes suggest this with my child there, if I’m really exhausted and just want to self-soothe. Should we have a reading meal? I’ll say lightly, as if I don’t care much either way.

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How do you organize your bookshelves?

Alphabetically. Which means there is always an enormous amount of books waiting to be “reshelved” when I have time, like in a library. I guess at this point I should just admit that my old books are alphabetized and the books I’ve gotten in the last five years are not. Two different bookcases.

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What is your favorite way to procrastinate when you are meant to be writing?

It’s best to procrastinate with other things I don’t want to do. The amount of business emails and household chores I’ve gotten done while not writing! The best part of this is that when you finally do get down to writing, and then eventually stop for the day, you discover that the bills have been magically paid, the floors washed…

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If you weren’t a writer, what would you do instead?

Well….

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Miranda July’s All Fours is available now from Riverhead.