Writers Read: Colin Gigl

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Colin Gigl

Colin Gigl is a graduate of Trinity College with degrees in creative writing and computer science (no, he’s not quite sure how that happened, either). He currently works at a start-up in New York and lives with his wife in New Jersey.

The Ferryman Institute is Gigl's debut novel.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:

As is usually the case with me, I'm a bit all over the place. In terms of recently read books, I worked through Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down by J. E. Gordon. Elon Musk had recommended it, and being that it was a topic that always fascinated me anyway, I gave it a shot. It was actually very well written and surprisingly funny for what is (to my knowledge) a college textbook. However, I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember as much as I would have liked. Moral of the story: don't ask me why things don't fall down.

On the fiction side of the world, I read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman not too long ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven't read nearly as much Pratchett as I should (two books, not including the aforementioned), but I'm working on that. Gaiman I'm a bit better versed in. I loved how they wove religion into the story -- I have a particular weak spot for that sort of thing, which no doubt factors in to why I also loved Christopher Moore's Lamb as well. I find religion and their associated myths fascinating. Obviously, given the premise of my own book, I very much like twisting familiar stories into something new, and they do that in Omens with aplomb. It's also just wonderfully crafted. Great dialogue and absolutely overflowing with imagination.

Currently in my not-so-free time, I've been reading The Sellout by Paul Beatty. I'm only about a quarter in, but so far it has an absolutely stellar voice and is one of those books that is just a joy to read. Beatty has an uncanny ability to turn a phrase that I'm extremely envious of. I've lost track of how many times I've read a sentence and thought, "Damn, wish I'd written that." So, Paul, if you're reading this, can you distill that down and send me a bottle of it? I'd be extremely grateful.