Writer Nathan Englander was on the Lopate Show recently to discuss his latest collection of short stories. He also told us about his new obsession with pottery and why he eats so many bagels.

What have you read or seen lately (book, film, play etc . . .) that moved or surprised you?

        I have this story in my collection—“Camp Sundown”—and no, that’s not what moved me—and a journalist asked me if I’d ever seen the Dostoyevsky’s “Four Season’s Choir” about a bungalow colony for holocaust survivors. It was devastating.

What are you listening to right now?

        This is weird, admittedly, but I’ve been playing The Beatles “Blackbird,” that one song in an endless loop this week.

 What’s the last great book you read?

        Julie Otsuka’s Buddha in the Attic

What’s one thing you’re a fan of that people might not expect?

        I’ve been throwing pottery all fall, and I’m obsessed.

What's your favorite comfort food?

        Bagels (which are basically my only food).