Tom Leveen

Tom Leveen is the author of Party, Zero, and manicpixiedreamgirl. Zero was named to YALSA’s list of Best Fiction for Young Adults.

Leveen's new novel, Sick, is his first foray into the horror genre. “Between the pacing and the heroes’ salty, blue language (full of lovingly creative, genital-inspired insults), reluctant readers who love zombies will devour it,” Kirkus Reviews says, “right up to the abrupt end.”

Last month I asked the author about what he was reading.  Leveen's reply:

I’ve been devouring nonfiction the last several months. Currently I’m in the middle of The Zero-Waste Lifestyle by Amy Korst, which is sort of a primer on how to reduce how much trash we produce in our daily lives. Enlightening, a little frightening, and well-written. Korst has a conversational and non-confrontational approach to her green living, which I appreciate. We are already implementing some of her “Easy” goals (she summarizes each chapter with a list of potential goals, including Easy, Moderate, and Advanced.) I recommend it. (I also recommend Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which dovetails nicely with this book.)

I’m also reading The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne, which is basically (my words) a screed saying, “Christians claim to obey a homeless rabbi who said to care for the poor, but we aren’t exactly doing that.” Maybe screed is the wrong word, but he offers a pretty compelling argument about what it looks like to really live in community, and doesn’t (in my opinion) resort to throwing Bibles at people to make his point. It’s clearly geared toward people of a certain faith, but his message is applicable to all of us, particularly as we continue to try and navigate our new national economy.

(I don’t know if it’s having a kid or what, but I’ve started paying a lot more attention to the world outside my house than I used to. How I see people and perceive my responsibilities to them, the planet, and myself has really been in flux since my child showed up. It’s led to some good reads, in any case!)

Lastly, I’m reading The Looking Glass Wars series by Frank Beddor. He’s built an amazing world of what Carroll’s Wonderland “actually” is, and how it’s connected to our “real” world. Very cool stuff. The graphic novel tie-ins are also worth looking into; some of the art is phenomenal.

Visit Tom Leveen's website.

My Book, The Movie: Zero.

My Book, The Movie: Sick.

The Page 69 Test: Sick.

--Marshal Zeringue