The Monday Media Diet with David McCloskey

On Charles McCarry, West Texas, and Rebecca Makkai

David McCloskey (DM) is a novelist (introduced to us the great by I.S. Berry). He was previously a CIA analyst covering Syria, which helped inform his fiction debut, Damascus Station. Check the new one out here.

Tell us about yourself.

I’m a former CIA analyst turned spy novelist by way of recovering from a consultant gig, husband, father to three kids, and an attempted Texan - though I’m told I’m doing a poor job. My third novel, The Seventh Floor, just came out in the States last October, and I’m now putting the final touches on my fourth while contemplating the fifth.

Describe your media diet.

Spartan. I read news articles on topics I’m interested in (usually by seeking them out), I don’t watch any cable news TV anymore. Most of what I put into my brain comes from books, though I must confess I do enjoy a good meme as much as the next guy.

What’s the last great book you read?

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai - a terrific, twisty exploration of (among many other things) how we remember the past and confront what we remember.

What are you reading now?

Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner + The Last Duel by Eric Jager

Creation Lake is a sort of subversive take on the spy novel, featuring a protagonist who is equal parts charming, witty, and repulsive. The Last Duel is an electric piece of medieval history, about the last official judicial combat in France, which took place in the late 14th century. It’s beautifully rendered and richly researched, one of those few history books that actually qualifies as a page turner.

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

Try to go cover to cover if possible.

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

Charles McCarry - old school former CIA officer (like, from the 1960s, he’s since passed) who’s the author of the best American spy novels, in this author’s opinion. He should be much better known than he is.

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone?

RocketMoney. Incredible financial analysis and budgeting tool.

Plane or train?

Train. 100%.

What is one place everyone should visit?

The mountains, or maybe the desert. Someplace where you don’t hear engines, or other people, and you can actually see the stars. Every year I try to spend around a week on a writing retreat in the high desert of West Texas. It’s a reminder of how much of our lives we spend looking down at screens, or crammed in cities without trees or grass or stars or space.

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.

When I was researching my second novel, Moscow X, I had a character who owned a thoroughbred breeding operation in northern Mexico. As I wrote it became more apparent that this was going to be a key thread in the plot. I didn’t know anything about horses. Before I started the research I’d probably ridden a horse maybe twice, if that. But by the end I had ridden plenty and visited ranches and interviewed guys who ran big Kentucky operations and my bookshelf was overloaded with books about horses. It was utterly fascinating, but it might have been easier to give the character a different occupation. (DM)