Alex Weprin and the Influence of Mary Roach’s “Stiff”

Bookshelf Beats is a website run by Gino Sorcinelli. I interview people about books that change their lives, inspire them, and/or make them think differently.

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About the Interviewee: Alex Weprin writes about television and media for Capital New York, Politico’s New York-based news outlet. Before joining Capital he was a senior editor at Mediabistro’s TVNewser blog, and was a contributor to Lost Remote. He began his journalism career at television trade magazine Broadcasting & Cable. His writing has also appeared in Variety and Cynopsis: Weekender. A graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, Alex lives in New York City.

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Gino: So how did you first discover Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers?

Alex: The truthful answer is I don’t entirely remember. It was either recommended by a friend or on a podcast that I was listening to. Regardless, I remember being taken aback when I first heard about the concept: a book about dead bodies?! How can that possibly be a fun read? And yet, by page three I was hooked.

Gino: What was it about the book that hooked you?

Alex: The author, Mary Roach, seamlessly blends humor into her writing. This is a skill that is greatly under-appreciated. Taking complex subjects like the science of dead bodies and making it both accessible and funny sounds like an impossible task, but she was able to walk that line perfectly. She also uses footnotes better than any other author I have read. Every time I turn to a new page I get excited to see footnotes at the bottom. Some of her best lines come from them. What other book can you say that about? For me though, humor is the most important thing. Stiff has it in spades.

Gino: It’s interesting that you mentioned the footnotes as a highlight. One of the reviews I read of Stiff also complimented her footnotes. In most books, footnotes are something that get ignored.

Alex: It is a signature of Roach’s, and in every subsequent book she has embraced the footnote. In her books, you ignore them at your own peril.

Gino: You mentioned the humor, and it sounds like a very funny book, but the content is very morbid. For instance, Roach talks about a plastic surgery facility where surgeons were practicing new techniques on a row of 40 human heads taken from cadavers. Many people would find that tough to stomach. It makes sense that she would use touches of humor to make it more accessible to the average reader.

While she was able to make readers laugh at the morbid content, Stiff also seemed to raise some heavy questions for Roach. In an interview with BookBrowse, Roach said, “I’m still plagued by all the same questions?—?do we go somewhere else when we die? Looking at a body, you are hit with this unwavering sense that the person whom this body used to be, is simply and absolutely not there…And it suddenly becomes even harder to imagine it all stopping there, with this mass of inert tissue. It just seems like such an unjust anticlimax. You very much want to believe that this person has simply shed one hull, one motor housing, for another kind. And moved on.”

What is your initial reaction to that quote? And, did Stiff change or challenge any of your thoughts or feelings on the subject of death?

Alex: That quote really sums up the book to me. Roach addresses what happens physically to our bodies once we die, but she also attempts to examine what happens to us metaphysically. Is there life after death? Unfortunately, there is no clear answer. She writes about some quacks that looked into that question, like a doctor that put dying patients on giant scales to see if he could measure their “souls” when they died. She also looks at scientists earnestly looking for answers. As for my views, Roach’s book didn't really change my perspective. I remain deeply unsure about what it all means. I accept that we can’t know all the answers, even though we all want to know the answers.

Gino: I liked her quote because I am very skeptical about the afterlife, but I also want to believe in it for personal and philosophical reasons. If Roach’s books didn't change your perspective, did it influence your writing or reporting style at all?

Alex: It did! I have made an effort to try and weave humor into my writing and reporting, when appropriate, of course. She showed that a serious subject can be made more accessible to readers by explaining things clearly, and with light touches of humor. I have made it a personal goal to try and take complicated subjects and explain them clearly and concisely for readers that may not be “insiders” or ‘experts”. I haven’t always succeeded, but I think I have improved. Roach’s writing style really inspired me to do that. Not everyone can be an expert in media business models, economics, food services, or death, but if you have some expertise you can make those topics easier to understand, whatever they may be.

Gino: Right. I think we underestimate the ability of our audience to understand an article or book, or at the very least get something from reading it.

Alex: Totally. Granted, I have also had people totally misunderstand things that I have written. That comes with the territory, but that is also a failure on my part. It means that i was not as clear as I could have been.

Gino: That’s an interesting and humble way to look at it. I think a lot of people would view that as a failure on the audience’s part. Kudos for holding yourself to a high standard.

Alex: There will always, always, always be people that just don’t get it. But if you are a good writer, you should be able to minimize that number.

Gino: We talked about how Roach has inspired your writing and the way you report. Could you ever see yourself writing a book like Stiff?

Alex: I've certainly thought about it. The biggest problem would be finding a topic that I am interested in, have expertise in, and could also be interesting to the average reader. And, of course, getting a book deal. My grandfather, however, wrote a number of books, none of them before the age of 70, so I clearly still have time to mull it over.

Gino: Who is your grandfather? Should I be reading his books?

Alex: My grandfather is Howard J. Langer. Most of his books were “trade” books, written for educational institutions and libraries. His first, American Indian Quotations, is still published today. He did write one book for general consumption, the World War II 100, which sought to rank the most important figures of World War II from one to 100.

Gino: That sounds interesting. Have you ever read it?

Alex: Yes, I have. It was really interesting. The first few names were obvious choices like Hitler, Churchill, and F.D.R.,but the farther down you go, the more interesting the stories became.

Gino: I’ll have to check the World War II 100 out. It’s inspiring that your grandfather started his writing career at 70. I want to shift gears and talk about how you read for a second. When I talk to people about books, time and time constraints often come up. How do you deal with these? I've found audiobooks, reading in bed, and waking up early to be my silver bullets.

Alex: Yes, we consume so much media these days that books can sometimes seem quaint. I do have a Kindle and I listen to a lot of podcasts, which are similar to audiobooks. I also read hard copies of many books, particularly pulpy mysteries or thrillers. For me, the key is just finding good times to do it. Before I go to bed is my favorite time to read. And when I am on vacation I read vociferously. When I commute I am always listening to a podcast, but that could easily be swapped out for an audiobook.

Gino: Yeah, Audible and Kindle have been amazing for me. I know some people will crucify me for saying it, but they make reading so seamless and easy. I own many hard copy books and frequent my local library, but Kindle and Audible have been an x factor for me.

Alex: They make getting books?—?and discovering new books?—?incredibly easy. To get back to Mary Roach for a second, Kindle doesn't handle her footnotes very well, so I always read her in hard copy.

Gino: Yeah, as much as I love the convenience and portability of Kindle, their formatting can be kind of crap sometimes and it doesn't always maintain the same aesthetics as the hard copy version. It all depends on how much time and effort the publisher or self-publisher spent on the e-book. Despite the flaws of the Kindle version of Stiff, it sounds like you are embracing some of the changes that have taken place in publishing. With so much change in both publishing and technology, do you ever fear for the future of books?

Alex: Books are holding on as a relevant form of media in a world where they are constantly battling for attention from TV, video games, and our smartphones. Yet they persevere. I don’t think books are going anywhere.

Gino: One last question. Who would you most like to see discuss their favorite book on Bookshelf Beats?

Alex: Well, not counting my grandfather, I would say Dean Baquet, the editor of the New York Times. He is a fascinating guy and I am curious to know what he reads, and what he thinks is the future of books.

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For more interviews about amazing books, check out Bookshelf Beats on Medium. To learn more about Alex, check out his writing for Capital New York and follow him on Twitter.