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Is it possible to be a good writer without being a good reader? I’d be shocked to meet a writer who’s not a reader. According to a report of the Independent Book Publishing Association, over five million American adults belong to reading groups. What, do you believe, is the basis for this country’s love for literature and books? I believe art is inherently a conversation, a dialogue between the artist and audience, and I think people are drawn to the discourse. We love to tell our stories, and we love to hear other people tell theirs. In a reading group, people can find points of connection, even community, as they learn and grow from the book and from each other. Who doesn’t want to be a part of something like that? Have you ever belonged to a reading group? Several. I loved them all. What advice do you have for reading group members when it comes to selecting books for discussion? Be willing to read and discuss something that’s outside of your comfort zone. I find that the best conversations result when people are pushed. What book(s) are you reading now or planning to read? Right now I’m reading Sandra Dallas’s new novel Prayers for Sale. It’s sort of a collection of short stories and I’m enjoying it immensely. Next up is Jennifer Cody Epstein’s debut, The Painter from Shanghai. If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring one book with you to read, what would it be and why? Such an impossible question. I’d want to bring Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, because it never ceases to move me. Anna Karenina, because the layers never end. The Bible, because it contains a bit of everything: romance, mystery, drama, comedy, poetry… And an anthology of Jane Austen, because she was my first love. I guess I’d have to throw them all in a hat and pick one out randomly. If you could have dinner with three writers (dead or alive), who would they be and why? Jane Austen, because she gets people. Michael Chabon, because I think he’s brilliant. Ernest Hemingway, because he’s fascinating--though he’s a modern author, he’s from a completely different world. Have you ever read anything you’re too embarrassed to admit (except in this interview)? This seems to be everyone’s dirty little secret, but I read (and enjoyed) Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight. The series went downhill very fast after that fun, little read, and I never even made it to the third book. Favorite book when you were a child? The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. If you have children, is this the same book you read to them? If not, what is your favorite book for your children? My boys are 2 and 5, and they both adore Dr. Suess. McElligot’s Pool, The Sleep Book, and If I Ran the Zoo are current favorites. Favorite heroine in literature and why? It’s so cliché to love her, but I’m crazy about Elizabeth Bennett. Intelligent, witty, confident… She’s the perfect woman in so many ways. Favorite hero in literature and why? Odysseus because his adventures make for just plain fun reading. Favorite first line from a book? Another cliché, but: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Dickens made me fall in love with literature and A Tale of Two Cities will always be on my top ten list. Favorite last line from a book? “By and by, all trace is gone, and what is forgotten is not only the footprints but the water too and what is down there. The rest is weather. Not the breath of the disremembered and unaccounted for, but the wind in the eaves, or the spring ice thawing too quickly. Just weather. Certainly no clamor for a kiss. Beloved.” Book that changed your life? “By and by, all trace is gone, and what is forgotten is not only the footprints but the water too and what is down there. The rest is weather. Not the breath of the disremembered and unaccounted for, but the wind in the eaves, or the spring ice thawing too quickly. Just weather. Certainly no clamor for a kiss. Words to live by? “Be great in act, as you have been in thought.” Shakespeare.
Copyright © 2010 Reading Group Choices
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