J.A. Yang was born in Taipei and came-of-age in San Diego. He has authored a few books, been published online here and there, and podcasts when the mood strikes. His favorite font is Enviro.
You can reach him at digitaljon(at)gmail.com.
LONG
Originally from Taiwan, Jon immigrated to the United States in 1984 and subsequently spent the rest of the Eighties studying English and missing out on American pop culture. In the Nineties he emerged with a thorough understanding of Yanni's discography, Dungeons & Dragons, and not much else. After high school in San Diego, Jon and his twin sister were torn apart as he chose to shuffle along to the University of Michigan, majoring in philosophy.
Following college, he moved to New York until 9/11 scared him away and he lived overseas in England and China for awhile until loneliness set in. He then returned to occupy various cubicles, immortalized himself in a video game, and helped out with the family business -- a flute factory.He became an author when The Rough Guide to Blogging released in 2006. A few short years later, his young adult novel, Exclusively Chloe, debuted to localized rejoicing and scattered applause. He is represented by the always amazing Full Circle Literary.
Jon enjoys conversations that start in the middle, friendships that form instantly, and making lots of lists.
MORE
- He tweets @jayang, he Tumblrs here.
- He's a 2009 Debutante.
- He has a newsletter, Cool It Now, for the ex-cool.
- He has a podcast, The Redo, which he does with Margot.
- Books, Recent: The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. (Adelle Waldman), Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn), Why Look at Animals (John Berger), Bad Feminist (Roxane Gay), Truth & Beauty (Ann Patchett), The Unspeakable (Meghan Daum), Green Island (Shawna Yang Ryan), Stories of Your Life and Others (Ted Chiang), The Folded Clock (Heidi Julavits), The Big Short (Michael Lewis), State of Wonder (Ann Patchett)
- YA Selections: Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson), The Possibilities of Sainthood (Donna Freitas), Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls (Bennett Madison), Leviathan series (Scott Westerfeld), Boy Meets Boy (David Levithan), Code Name Verity (Elizabeth Wein), Kiki Strike series (Kirsten Miller), We Were Liars (E.Lockhart)
- Movies, Recent: Reality Bites, Moonrise Kingdom, Young Adult, Looper, Spring Breakers, Frances Ha, Stories We Tell, The Great Beauty, Blue is the Warmest Color, The One I Love, Her, Edge of Tomorrow, LaLa Land, The Lobster, 20th Century Women, Logan, This!
- Actors/actresses: Ryan Gosling, Amy Adams, Emma Stone, Michael Fassbender, Greta Gerwig, Jessica Chastain
- TV Shows: My So Called Life, Freaks and Geeks, Mad Men, RW/RR Challenge, Sherlock, Game of Thrones, Black Sails, Orphan Black, Westworld, Riverdale
- Music: Frank Ocean, the end.
- Podcasts: The Bill Simmons Podcast, Call Your Girlfriend, Bad with Money, Still Processing, The Lonely Palette, Dear Sugar, Yo Is This Racist?, The Redo
- Obsessions: Boston Celtics, X-Men, Wizard of Oz, chess, dance movies, fantasy sports.
- Foods: Ramen, carne asada burritos, heavily buttered and salted movie popcorn, canned pineapple chunks, boba boba boba, 豆花.
"A while back... [we] agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like. Books, records, films -- these things matter! Call me shallow, it's the fucking truth."
-High Fidelity-
[Updated: 5/2017]
