SDQ Interview with Margo Rabb.

Margo Rabb, author of the super-duper Cures for Heartbreak* is in the midst of a two-week, ten-stop Internet Book Tour. 

I usually have much more of an intro, but I was so thrown by Margo's Favorite Piece of Trivia (see below) that it's all I can think about right now.  Seriously.  It freaked me out. 

Anyhoo.**

Besides, it isn't my intro you're interested in, right?  So let's get straight to it!

Book currently reading:

My Kitchen Wars by Betty Fussell.  It’s a great memoir of domestic life in the 1940s through the 1970s.  It includes vignettes from the author’s college days, when women weren’t allowed to wear pants, through her years as a faculty wife at Princeton, when the university refused to let her take classes because she was a woman.  Reading it makes me feel grateful to be a woman in the present generation.

Music in current rotation:


Regina Spektor's Begin To Hope

Last Movie Viewed:

It isn’t a movie, but an old TV show—Gidget starring Sally Field.  I loved it when I saw it in syndication when I was little, and I still love it now.  I grew up in New York City and I can barely swim, but I guess I’ve always secretly longed to be a California surfer girl.

Literary Crush: 

Edward Gorey.  Last summer my husband and I visited his house in Cape Cod, which they’ve made into a museum.  He lived there with over 25,000 books and six cats, and they even have his trademark raccoon coat on display.  (Apparently he felt so guilty about having a raccoon coat that he eventually stopped wearing it, and allowed a raccoon family to live in his attic as a sort of a penance.)

Pet Peeve:
 

The word "anyhoo." My sister hates that word also, as well as "whatnot," so of course I’ve enjoyed repeating them to her incessantly with the sole purpose of driving her insane.  She returned the favor by repeating "preggers" to me when I was pregnant.  That word makes my skin crawl.

Current obsession:

For my birthday this January, my husband bought me The Murray’s Cheese Handbook, which has a section entitled “Cheeses to Eat Before You Die,” so we’re slowly making our way through that list.  We most recently tried the Burrata, which is a hollow ball made of fresh buffalo mozzarella filled with oozy cheese curds and cream—it’s insanely delicious.

Guilty Pleasures:


The aforementioned cheese, chocolate in all forms, pie, and watching Wife Swap on TV.   

Favorite Piece of Trivia:


There’s a neurological condition called Alien Hand Syndrome, in which one of your hands acts with a mind of its own—it could even unbutton your shirt during a business lunch.

Irrational Fear:

Going into dark basements by myself.

Favorite Words:

Moonpie and imbroglio.

The ten-day tour will wind up tomorrow, with Mindy at Propernoun.net.  If you've missed her other stops, here's a handy-dandy list of links:

3/19: Colleen Mondor at Chasing Ray
3/20: Lizzie Skurnick at theoldhag
3/21: Jen Robinson at Jen Robinson's Book Page
3/22: Betsy Bird at Fuse #8
3/23: Kelly Herold at Big A Little A
3/26: Liz Burns at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
3/27: Jackie Parker at Interactive Reader
3/28: Little Willow at Bildungsroman

Looking for even more Margo Rabb?  Befriend her on MySpace. 

But wait, there's more!  If you'd like a free copy of Cures for Heartbreak, send an email to [email protected].  There will be a different winner on each day of the tour.

*My review isn't posted yet, so be sure to check out the reviews by these ladies:  Jen Robinson, Colleen Mondor, and Kelly Herold.

**That was for you, Margo.

Comments

[Paula]

Wow, thanks for this - I'm going right out to order both books, Cures for Heartbreak and Murray's Cheese Handbook. Just thinking about all the cheeses I haven't eaten yet...good Lord, what if I get struck by a truck tomorrow??

Seriously, great interview!

[Colleen]

I am reminded every step of this blog tour how much Margo and I have in common - I grew up watching Gidget reruns as well. It is absolutely one of my all time favorite shows.

I have also read My Kitchen Wars and enjoyed it immensely and have a book on Edward Gorey's house.

If I lived in Brooklyn I'd think Margo and I were some sort of twins.

(I need to find that cheese book though!)

[Leila]

I've never seen the Gidget show, but that clip was ADORABLE. Now I want to see it.

And that cheese book will be mine (oh, yes...). When I was looking for Burrata pictures, I had to stop and wipe drool off of my keyboard.

[Colleen]

Gidget is great - it's not some big earth shattering drama, it's just a happy show that will make you laugh. I grew up on the beach and in the water so I really identified with the whole beachy part of it. But mostly I wanted to be Sally Field's friend. Gidget is really one of the most endearing characters in tv history.

[Margo Rabb]

Leila, thanks so much for hosting me today--I love the photos! You must try the Burrata...it's so good. You have to share it with a bunch of people though, since it's way too much for even two people to finish, and it only stays fresh for 24 hrs (according to the cheese book.)

Paula, I hope you like CURES! And Colleen...i think we were separated at birth.