On the day I contacted J.C. Hallman to ask if he’d like to answer the 6 questions we always ask, he was on his way to Chicago to read as part of the Bookslut Reading Series. He was going to be reading with Aleksander Hemon, Marc Phillips, and Jean Thompson. He keeps good company doesn’t he? You’re in luck because you can be in his company at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23rd at Common Good Bookstore, 165 Western Avenue N Suite 14, St Paul. He’ll be reading from his latest, a short story collection called The Hospital for Bad Poets

What book(s) are you currently reading?
I just finished Robert Bolano’s 2666. It’s still very fresh in my mind — a huge, wonderful work. I may have to write about it. And I’m reading the book of a friend of mine, Joseph C. Millar, that is gearing up to go out to publishers. Another big, beautiful work full of stunning language. Remember that name. Joseph C. Millar.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Who?
Hell, yes. The French girl from James Salter’s A Sport and a Pastime. And Drenka from Philip Roth’s Sabbath’s Theater.

If your favorite author came to Minnesota, who would it be and what bar would you take him/her to?
I might say that I’d take Fitzgerald to W.A. Frost, but chances are he’s already been there. Instead, I’ll take Kafka to the Kitty Kat Klub — just for all the K’s.

What was your first favorite book?
Maybe Malamud’s The Fixer. I like the implication of the question, though…it does, in fact, keep changing.

Let’s say Fahrenheit 451 comes to life, which book would you become in order to save it from annihilation?
Dianetics. (No, wait, that one’s already safe in storehouses all around the country.) I assume my books are excluded from consideration. I’ll save The Trial — to be consistent, somewhat.

What is one book you haven’t read but want to read before you die?
I’d love to sit around with a bunch of friends and hold a vigil to read Ulysses aloud in a single day.