Cartoonist Liana Finck says that her anxieties often inspire her whimsical, biting drawings seen regularly in The New Yorker. Becoming a new mom gave her plenty of material for “How to Baby: A No-Advice Given Guide to Motherhood with Drawings.” Finck is also the author of the graphic memoir “Passing for Human,” the graphic novel “Let There Be Light,” and the children’s book “You Broke It!”. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright Fellowship, she lives in Brooklyn with her son and husband.
BOOKS: What are you reading?
FINCK: I just finished Jennifer Egan’s “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” which I reread after reading her novel “The Candy House,” which I adored. I liked “Goon Squad” this time but not before because the characters seemed too cool. I had a chip on my shoulder about coolness. These were the first adult novels I’d read in 10 months. I took this bizarre and first-ever break from reading because I was so overwhelmed with child care.
BOOKS: What was it like to return to fiction?
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FINCK: It was amazing. I felt my world broaden. I got back to fiction by reading my friend Sarah Manguso’s forthcoming novel, “Liars,” which is very poetic and written in stand-alone paragraphs. Most of my reading is with audio books but I had to read “Liars” with my eyes because it wasn’t published. I don’t let myself read on the page enough. It feels too luxurious to focus all my senses for one thing that isn’t work or child care.
BOOKS: Who are your favorite novelists?
FINCK: A lot of my favorites have written one book or parts of one book that I love. Then I don’t love the rest of their work but I’m so curious I still read all of it. Isak Dinesen is one of those people. I love “Seven Gothic Tales,” at least parts of it. I love how she turns life into a story.
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BOOKS: Who else is in that camp?
FINCK: The short-story writer Mavis Gallant. I was obsessed with her. I went to Paris on an exchange program because I wanted to be her. I love her stories that are less depressing but there are very few of them.
BOOKS: What’s on your to-read stack?
FINCK: I just ordered Adelle Waldman’s novel “Help Wanted.” I’ve been reading Leslie Jamison’s essays so I want to order her new book, “Splinters.” I read Stacy Schiff’s “The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams” about every six months. I adore everything she writes. I first read her because of my Nabokov obsession. She wrote a book about his wife, Vera. Schiff’s just this sparkly, non-linear, interesting thinker, and I love the breadth of the projects she takes on.
BOOKS: Is there anything about reading that makes you anxious?
FINCK: I can’t bear sitting still. It’s such a paradox because you read to be taken out of the world, and you need your world to expand to know that there is some meaning instead of this hectic mishmash, but in order to do that you have to sit still. If I have a perfect spot to sit I could, but I’ve yet to find that.
BOOKS: Did audiobooks solve your problem?
FINCK: They totally did. I don’t think it’s cheating but it is a little bit. If I like a book, I usually listen to it three times. The first listen, I’m not paying that much attention but the structure of the book seeps in. Then I have the map of the book in my head. By the third listen, I’m catching all the parts that I missed.
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BOOKS: What do you pick up for comfort reading?
FINCK: I read a lot of self-help books. I read a ton of books about having a baby. Some of them, like Emily Oster’s “Expecting Better,” I liked and some I hated. Harvey Karp’s “The Happiest Baby Book” is terrible and Heidi Murkoff’s “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” is so condescending and full of propaganda. But I found them delightful to read because I hated them. Now my husband and I are getting into time management. We are both reading “Getting Things Done” by David Allen.
BOOKS: Has it helped?
FINCK: Things are feeling good, so it might be because of the book.
Follow us @GlobeBiblio. Amy Sutherland is the author, most recently, of “Rescuing Penny Jane” and she can be reached at amysutherland@mac.com.