Jackie Collins Has 4 TiVos and Was a Leopard in a Past Life

Jackie Collins has written 29 novels, all of which have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. At the moment she’s doing publicity for a cookbook based on one of her characters, which means she’s answering all kinds of questions in the most delightful way.

For instance: When it comes to what she reads and watches, the 76-year-old is voracious. Her TV and reading habits are profiled in The Wire’s “Media Diet” column, and seriously, she reads a lot: BBC News, The Daily Mail, The New York Times, USA Today, The New York Post, The Huffington Post, Deadline Hollywood, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, Hello, etc. She is partial to UK-produced news:

I really feel that the BBC News tells you everything and you can trust it. It’s like getting on a plane and the pilot is English, you feel, ‘Oh yeah, I’m in good hands.’ It’s terrible, but it’s true.

She’s big on Twitter: “If somebody dies, it’s on Twitter before it’s anywhere else.” And then there’s what she watches:

Because I’m always traveling, and either writing or promoting a book — I write a book every year — I have four TiVos in my bedroom. I use them to catch up with the news, but also I’m addicted to television. I have a fabulous line-up of shows and I am desperately catching up on The Blacklist, The Following, Shameless, and Parenthood. I’m not into podcasts. I do them, but with all the television I have to watch, the books I have to write, and the promotions I have to do, I can’t always listen to podcasts. But I won’t miss “Between Two Ferns” with Zach Galifianakis. I thought the episode when President Barack Obama went on was hilarious; I love the way he insults everybody. I would definitely go on it, because he could insult the hell out of me. I’m going to suggest it to my publicist!

Meanwhile, the folks at Vulture have a slideshow documenting a day in the life of Jackie Collins. The photographs are gorgeous — check her out shopping at the Beverly Hills Rite Aid — and the quotes are killer. “I feel I feel that in another life, I could have been a leopard or a black panther,” she says. “I just feel it.” On women who carry small dogs in their purses: “Get a fucking life!” On her wardrobe: “Blazers are part of my uniform! I design them myself. I’m a control freak, you see.” Though perhaps her best quote is from The Wire:

I hate it when people say to me, “I’m bored.” I want to say to them, “This is your life, how can you possibly be bored? There’s so much to do.”

By the by, if you’re not following her on Pinterest, you’re missing some great images of hot dudes, jungle cats and “jewels to die for.”