Everybody deals with separation anxiety from their pets in their own way. Some pet owners give their furry friends treats. Others give their pets more cuddles when they return.
But Alan Cumming? He deals with his pet separation anxiety by writing about it.
In his new children's book The Adventures of Honey And Leon, illustrated by Cumming's husband Grant Shaffer, Cumming imagines the secret adventures their dogs embark on while Cumming and Shaffer are on vacation.
"We would travel so much, the two of us, and I'd miss them," explains Cumming. "And one time we were in Kuala Lumpur, and I said 'Oh I miss Honey and Leon.' And Grant said, 'They're here. They followed us. There's Honey behind that palm tree wearing a floppy hat and sunglasses. Leon's eating guacamole and chips.'"
"We built up this whole idea that, whenever we went away, they would follow us in disguise around the world ... This book's basically a big treatise of my husband deluding me," jokes Cumming.
This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with Alan Cumming about his new book The Adventures of Honey and Leon, and, well, just about everything else that we could think of, because, as it turns out, Cumming hates typical interviews.
"It's funny when you do junkets for things and people just ask you the same question like 60 times a day ... you wouldn't believe how boring it could be. No pressure."
So join us as we chat about The Adventures of Honey And Leon, Alan Cumming's love of the Teletubbies, why he used to have the word "raven" tattooed on his body, what makes a good dog name, and more.
And as always, we close the show with recommendations:
Peter recommends the new adaptation of It. "It is as good as it could be, which is saying a lot for a Stephen King movie." "There's an attention to detail about the scary parts and the atmosphere they're trying to create. It was very well thought out and very well choreographed and very well storyboarded, I feel."
Alan recommends the Billie Jean King biopic Battle Of The Sexes, staring Emma Stone and, well, Alan Cumming himself. "I'm hardly in it so I think it's fair for me to like it ... It's so good!"
Aliza recommends "The Sorrow and the Shame of the Accidental Killer," a New Yorker article by Alice Gregory about what happens when you accidentally cause someone else's death. "It's just really interesting and something that none of us wants to think about: how close we are, on any given day, to accidentally killing someone."
MJ recommends "The Way We Live Now: 11-11-01; Lost and Found," an essay by Underground Railroad author (and past MashReads podcast guest) Colson Whitehead about New York, 9/11, the ways we remember cities after they change. "It's this moving tribute to the Twin Towers and also how we inhabit spaces."
Don't forget to follow MashReads on Facebook and Twitter for the latest, greatest book news. And if you're looking for a book to read, check out Gabriel Tallents My Absolute Darling, MashReads' book club pick for the month.
Topics Books
