On the Spiral Staircase with Nicole De Jackmo
In the nearly 6 years that Nicole has worked at Quirk, she has helped to publicize and market all things Quirk — including the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series, William Shakespeare's Star Wars, The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy, and more! She oversees everything from Quirk's books, to its brand, to this here blog.
If you were stranded on Mars and could only have one book to read, what would it be?
For a book person, this is an impossible question! And I've spent an unnecessary amount of time thinking about this and have devised some criteria:
1) It would be something that I've already read because I'll want to be able to re-read it—who knows how long I'll be stranded there!
2) Said book would have to be something that affected me rather than pure entertainment because I'm presuming that I'm on my own and will have a lot of time with my thoughts.
3) It can't be too dense or esoteric because reading should be enjoyable.
So! In pure Oscar's fashion, the nominees are:
- Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life
- Zadie Smith's White Teeth
- Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals
And the winner is: Zadie Smith's White Teeth because it meets all of the criteria. Plus, it's an epic story about family, friendship, and identity—all things that are important to me and give a lot of opportunity to mull over.
Tell us about something cool you keep at your desk.
This cute little Adipose stress ball. Adipose are the cutest aliens and they're from one of my all-time favorite episodes of Doctor Who. I mean how can you not love this little blob?
What's your fandom?
Doctor Who! I'm currently eagerly awaiting the new season and think that a Tardis that could take me to 4/15 would be perfect.
I think the history nerd in me is really drawn to time travel. As a kid I was obsessed with Quantum Leap and as an adult Doctor Who has been a fun combination of storytelling and time travel that I really enjoy. And while the Doctor is immortal there is something so incredibly refreshing that he's flawed and human – just like us. AND the writing is fantastic, there's a look back at the past and an imagining of the future, and at the core it's a story about friendship because none of us can go through life alone.
What's an unexpected talent or side effect you've picked up while working at Quirk?
It's funny that Quirk created the Worst Case Scenario series because I feel like that's the unexpected talent I've picked up while working at Quirk. And to clarify, I don't mean that I've become MacGyver and can survive with the string from a yo-yo and a bobby pin! It's more that I tend to envision what could possibly go wrong and then try to make sure to iron out any potential problems ahead of time…
If you were a Quirk book, which one would you be?
My Best Friend's Exorcism! Minnesota Public Radio called the book "Campy. Heartfelt. Horrifying." I'm not saying I'm campy or horrifying but I think that I'm a heartfelt person who would do just about anything for a friend.
