Martin Bodek
Martin Bodek was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children. He is a technologist by day, and a writer by night. He has been writing freelance for over two decades, mostly on Jewish interest topics. His work has been published and his books have been covered in dozens of newspapers, journals, magazines, blogs, podcasts, and social media channels. His eleventh book, Zaidy's War, might be his most important.
Twitter: @MartinBodek
Instagram: @MartinBodek
Favorite non-reading activity?
Running! And I have a feeling this will come up more than once here. I've been an avid runner since my teens - and I'm far removed from my teens. I have 37 marathons under my belt, 50 runs of marathon distance or longer in total, and I'm the 200th person to have completed 20 consecutive New York City Marathons.
Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?
20 pages. If you haven't grabbed my attention by then, dear author, then you have failed. Besides, I'm currently reading through the 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die, and to accomplish that, I have to read these books in their entirety, or the project doesn't count. Hence, I simply don't have time to have my time wasted. Grab me by the 20th page, or write something better. Next!
Is there a work of art that you love. Why? Have you ever visited it in person?
Yes, Michelangelo's David. It's exquisite, and detailed, and gorgeous, and huge, and it was outdoors for hundreds of years and is still perfect (except for the unrepaired vandalism to his toes). I finally got to see him in person this summer, during a family vacation to Italy, and it exceeded my expectations in every way.
What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?
I told you running would come up again! See, this might be the same question as the difference between a jogger and a runner. That's open to interpretation, as is the difference between a writer and author. To me, and this is debatable, a writer is a person who writes - anything, all the time. An author is a lofty word reserved for those who write books. I don't think either word suggests one makes a living either way. That is up to the gods. As for shifting gears, I love writing, anything, all the time, but book ideas get priority.
Do you speak a second language? Do you think differently in that language? Does it influence your writing?
I do! I speak Yiddish fluently, plus I speak Hebrew non-fluently, plus I have a working knowledge of several other languages, because I enjoy DuoLingo daily (910-day streak and counting!). Back to Yiddish: there are certain times during the day that thoughts occur to me in that vernacular, as it's my first language. For this work, my knowledge of Yiddish was paramount and influential, as my interview with Zaidy was in Yiddish, and I spent two years translating the VHSes into English. I hope you enjoy the final product.
