bookshelves of doom

SDQ Interview with Adam Selzer.

Here's a factoid that'll make reading the laugh-out-loud funny How to Get Suspended and Influence People even more entertaining:

Adam Selzer spent his teen years in Gwinnett County, Georgia.  Yep.  That Gwinnett County.  In his day -- pre-Harry Potter -- he battled a group of censors who took issue with The Basketball Diaries.

On to the SDQI!

Books currently reading:

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens and a collection of essays about The Beatles

CDs in current rotation:

Modern Times by Bob Dylan (writers like Dylan only come around once a century or so), My Chemical Romance (a band I never thought I'd like, but the new album is great fun), Regina Spektor, early Tom Waits, and a group called Ookla the Mok.

Last Movie Viewed:

Groundhog Day

Literary Crush:

Fictional:  Norah from "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist."  I think she'd like me.  For a while.

Real:  I'm not sure I'd call it a crush, but I've pretty much based my life on the teachings of Daniel Pinkwater.

Pet Peeve:

People who write "could of" or "should of" instead of "could've" or "should've." Grrrr. That and my train/bus card breaking, which happens far too often.

Current obsessions:

The primaries for the 2008 election (already), West Wing reruns, getting up to speed on the comic book world, tracking down Beatles bootlegs, overanalyzing Bob Dylan

Guilty Pleasure:

I'm not sure one should feel too guilty about one's pleasures, but I don't suppose I'll get a lot of street cred for the nights I spend eating pizza and watching Nickelodeon.

Irrational Fear:

My work as a ghost tour guide in Chicago has hardened me to most of the weirder fears, but in the middle of the night I still sometimes worry that Bloody Mary will show up in my mirror.

Favorite word:

I've been listing "Plume" as a favorite word since I was about 13. It has a nice, sky-blue ring to it.

SDQ Interview with Kirby Larson.

Kirby Larson is the author of Hattie Big Sky, a book so super-fab that I read it in one sitting, despite the fact that it is historical fiction.  I loved it so much that I've been babbling about it to anyone within fifteen feet of me, and my need to share it has been so great that I loaned my personal, autographed copy to three of my favorite patrons*.

Sorry about that.  Back to you, Kirby.

Books Currently Reading:

Just finished Bonny Becker's HOLBROOK: A LIZARD'S TALE (an adventure story about an artistic lizard -- fun read!), and am just starting Susan Fletcher's ALPHABET OF DREAMS.

CDs Currently in Rotation:

I recently heard Rita Coolidge perform, and, even with a cold she was classy, warm and fabulous.  I bought her new jazz CD (title escapes me) and am listening to it constantly; also "Ray Sings, Basie Swings;" a CD my daughter and her husband made for me (with a knock-out cover of "Brown-Eyed Girl") and several Alison Krauss CDs.

Last Movie Viewed:

Roman Holiday, with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.

Literary Crush (real person or literary character):

I married my one true crush but I would love to have a dinner party (catered, of course) and invite M.T. Anderson, Karen Hesse, Karen Cushman, Frances O'Roark Dowell, Barbara O'Connor, Katherine Paterson, Betsy Byars, Avi, Joan Bauer, Gennifer Choldenko, Jennifer Holm, Lloyd Alexander and Sid Fleischman.

Pet Peeves:

Misspelled words on signs, video games and people who say they don't read, especially when they say it in front of kids.

Current Obsessions:

Writing my daily 1600 words for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo); yoga; and planning a trip to New Zealand.

Guilty Pleasures:

Fran's dark chocolate Sea Salt Caramels and, at the other end of the epicurean spectrum, red licorice (but never Twizzlers)

Irrational Fears:

Every single one of my fears is well-founded and rational.

Favorite Words:

Capricious, Dare and Mom (not necessarily in that order)

You should also check out Kirby Larson's Backstory at M. J. Rose's blog.  (Thanks to John L. for the link.)

*According to their mother, all three girls loved it.  Which must be true, as they haven't returned it yet.  Ahem.

SDQ Interview with John Green.

Yes, THE John Green.  The Printz-winning author of Looking for Alaska.  The man who has admitted to being dumped 53 times*.  The anagram-lovin', last-word quotin', banjo-listenin', book video-inspirin', footnotin' fool.**

He is currently in the middle of a whirlwind 19-business-day Internet Book Tour to promote his new book, the AWESOME AND FABULOUS An Abundance of Katherines.

This is Stop Number Eleven.  I think.  Previous stops (in order of publication) are:  Jane Mag, Justine Larbalestier, Cecil Castellucci, Fuse #8, Jo Knowles, The Answer May Surprise You, Sara Zarr, Dr. Frank's What's-it, Chasing Ray and Not Your Mother's Bookclub.  As if all that isn't enough, he also made a cameo appearance over at MotherReader's place and recently interviewed himself for a Penguin podcast.  And his real-life book tour is starting up soon.***  Yeesh.  I'm tired just thinking about it.

Book Currently Reading:

Six Easy Pieces, by Richard Feynmann. It's a slightly dated (1963), relatively short introduction to Physics. (And no, I am not preparing to torture my beloved readers with a book about Physics.) But I do like Physics a lot, insofar as I understand it, which is not very far at all. Even those this is ostensibly an easy book (I mean, it is right there in the title), I read each paragraph about twelve times.

CDs in Rotation:

I've been listening a lot to Old Crow Medicine Show's "Big Iron World." Also Doc Watson's album, "Southbound."

Last Movie Viewed:

That depends on how you define 'movie.' If the definition of 'movie' includes back-to-back episodes of CSI: Miami that feature a single story arc, then the last movie I saw was "CSI: Miami: This Drug Dealer Guy Is Outlandishly Hard to Kill. Let's Follow Him to Rio!" (I recommend it heartily. It features some of David Caruso's very best squinting and head-tilting.)  If you mean theatrically released movie, that would be "Little Miss Sunshine." That was also pretty good, although it's no CSI: Miami.

Literary Crush (real person or fictional character):

I recently made a list of literary crushes on my blog (it included Sarah Dessen, E. Lockhart, Holly Black, and Cecil Castellucci, among others).

Fictional character crushes: I wouldn't mind spending some quality time with Anne Stanton from "All the King's Men." And I suspect the librarian in Richard Powers' "The Gold Bug Variations" could keep me warm at night.

Pet Peeve:

Cotton balls. I mean, their very existence annoys me, but I find it particularly unbearable when I'm forced to see or touch or think about them. They disgust me. I realize this is crazy. Okay, let's talk about something else. I'm starting to feel sick.

Current Obsession:

I'm a big fan of the underrated TV show "How I Met Your Mother," which features both Doogie Howser and a guy I went to college with.

The New York Times crossword puzzle (my wife just bought a subscription, so we can access like 10 years worth of puzzles)

English Premier League soccer (Go Liverpool! Champions of Europe!)

Guilty Pleasures:

Um, I feel pretty guilty about CSI: Miami and How I Met Your Mother.

Irrational Fears:

Cotton balls! Also dentistry (not entirely irrational), air travel (also not entirely irrational), and mice (pretty much entirely irrational).

Favorite Words:

I like the word "deadpanned" way, way too much and have to fight against using it in every paragraph of everything I write.

But really, I try not to play favorites when it comes to words. It's not the words themselves that matter, but how you use them. (Or so argues An Abundance of Katherines.)

* The Today Show reported it as 59, but they got it wrong.

** Everyone seems to use this picture, which I grant you, is a very good one.  But I still prefer these.

*** I don't seem to see any stops in Maine.  Or even Boston.  Ahem.

SDQ Interview with Kathe Koja.

Kathe Koja is the author of Going Under, which I raved about recently.*  She's also the author of Talk, The Blue Mirror, Straydog and Buddha Boy -- as well as a good number of grown-up books. 

Book Currently Reading:

I just finished Donald Antrim's THE AFTERLIFE; really wonderful, a memoir about death, family, alcoholism, and how not to buy a Dux bed.  Helen Frost's THE BRAID is next on the stack.

Cds Currently in Rotation:

My iPod is rocking Rufus Wainwright, Interpol, the Evens, the Pixies, Kronos Quartet, Secret Machines...and helping me rediscover how much I love Mott the Hoople. "Marionette," WOW.

Last Movie Viewed:

"The Constant Gardener."  I'm not a big Ralph Fiennes fan, but it was a very fine film.  The last movie I really loved: tie between "Brokeback Mountain" and "Syriana."

Literary Crush (real person or fictional character): 

I am too shy to reveal it.

Pet Peeve:

Adults who use cell phones as pacifiers.  No, EVERYONE who uses a cell phone as a pacifier, to stave off those anxious moments of silence and/or actual thought.

Current Obsession:

Nag Champa incense.  The whole house smells enlightened by now.

Guilty Pleasure:

overheardinnewyork.com.  When I should be working, I'm clicking and laughing.

Irrational Fear:

Flying.  Nothing to do with security, or anything like that - I just secretly don't believe that the science of aerodynamics is anything but collective voodoo, and once we all wise up...boom, gravity.  I must be a real treat to sit next to on a plane.

Favorite Words:

The sounds of the names of the ones I love (people and animals).

*In an email, Kathe described Ivan as "a pip", which I think is a tad of an understatement, but hey -- she's his creator, so I suppose she knows best.  She also mentioned that the gorgeous cover art was created by her husband, Rick Lieder.

SDQ Interview with Maureen Johnson.

Maureen Johnson is the author of The Key to the Golden Firebird, The Bermudez Triangle, 13 Little Blue Envelopes (she had nothing to do with the cover art) and the upcoming Devilish.  She's got great taste in ice cream, reads grown-up books (shocking!) and is really, really funny:

Book Currently Reading:

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope.

CDs Currently in Rotation:

Looking at my iTunes, I think I need an update. There's the new Divine Comedy album, Victory for the Comic Muse. That's been played a lot. I love Roxy Music, so Siren is always in there. David Bowie, Scissor Sisters, Supergrass, Goldfrapp . . . all very regular.

Last Movie Viewed:

The other night, we stumbled in late, and switched on the TV. The original "Bedazzled" with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore was on. I'd never seen it—never even knew about it. It's so good. Peter Cook is a fantastic devil. Nicely relevant to my new book, so I could justify sitting around until 2 am watching tv as "work." No one is falling for it, but who cares?

If you mean in the theater, that would be Pirate of the Caribbean 2. Everyone loves (Captain) Jack Sparrow. Arrrrrr.

Literary Crush (real person or fictional character):

Is it awkward if I say Ron Weasley? How about the Pirate Captain from The Pirates! Also, Robert Benchley (real person) and Bertie Wooster (not as much).

Pet Peeve:

I don't like the sound of drinks being poured over the radio. (Meaning, the sound effect of pouring, not someone pouring liquid over an actual radio.)

Current Obsession:

Amazingly, I am obsession-free at the moment. I do get obsessions a lot. I think it's because I'm in between-drafts mode. Generally, though, I'm a re-reader. I have books I've read a hundred times, bit by bit.  Current book: Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter Thompson. I've long lost count on what reading I'm on. I just pick it up and start anywhere.

Guilty Pleasures:

Mint chocolate chip ice cream, specifically, Breyers. I can eat a gallon of this and not even notice. This is why I never buy it. Also, British crime dramas, really gory ones.

Irrational Fears:

This one is fairly embarrassing. I can't handle water slides, especially ones with covers, like the tubes. I had visitors last year and took them to a water park, and allegedly I screamed a lot—well above the acceptable "I'm having fun" level. It was much more the "I see a six-inch big spider with great big teeth on my back" kind of scream. That was before I just bagged it completely and held the towels. Five year old children could handle more than I could. But come on. Darkness, water, and confined space . . . that can't be good, right?

Also, jellyfish. Even in places that aren't supposed to have jellyfish.

Favorite Words:

This is one of those impossible questions I always avoid. I'll have to get random. I like the way the British use the word "rubbish." It's so handy and has such a nice feel. We need an equivalent.

Is antijellyfish a word? I'd like that too, if it was.

SDQ Interview with Scott Westerfeld.

Yes, I'm talking about that Scott Westerfeld.  The author of the Uglies and Midnighters trilogies.  The author of my beloved So Yesterday, of my oft-recommended Peeps and of its upcoming sequel/companion, The Last Days.  (Which I've already read twice.) 

I admit that I'm feeling a little star-struck.

Books Currently Reading:

Naomi Novik's "Black Powder War"
John Green's "An Abundance of Katherines"
Chynna Clugston-Major's "Blue Monday" series
And waiting for the next "Fables," of course.

CDs Currently in Rotation:

Hmm, looks like nobody new: DJ Shadow, Imogen Heap, and heaps of Tricky. I'm basically a shuffler, though.

Last Movie Viewed:

"Shadow: Dead Riot." A women's prison zombie movie . . . sort of a non-thinking-person's "Candyman."

Literary Crush (real person or fictional character):

Big crush on Ramona Victoria Flowers from Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" series. Is that literary enough for you? I think that it is.

Plus all the cool librarians we just met in New Orleans at ALA! What a blast.

Pet Peeve:

When I use an unfamiliar term in an email, and the other person asks me to define it. Like, dude, you're sitting at a COMPUTER that's connected to the INTERNET. It's called GOOGLE!

Current Obsessions:

Airship research, particularly in musty books. Have also been following the Dynalifter slightly heavier-than-air trials in Ohio.

I'm also obsessed with battery-life issues, zombie movies, and I'm having brief fling with penalty kick analysis.  (But that won't last.)

Guilty Pleasure:

Our almost-courtside seats at Madison Square Garden for the New York Liberty (WNBA).  Nothing like 10,000 eleven-year-old girls shouting, "DEE-fense! DEE-fense!" in unison.

Irrational Fear:

Having the rear end of an old fashioned ice-skate blade accidentally plunge into my knee. That's pretty irrational, right?

Favorite Words:

"Eschatology," "chthonic," and "wrong-un" (that last one being cricket terminology).

SDQ Interview with Justina Chen Headley.

Justina Chen Headley is the author of the super-fun Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies).  She's got a new book coming out in 2007 and she's working on a third right now.  She's the founding member of the Kung Fu Kick Ass Club.  And as if that isn't enough, she's running an essay contest for a $5,000 college scholarship -- check out the details here.

Book Currently Reading:

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro:  amazing, disturbing, humbling, haunting. 

CDs Currently in Rotation: 

Well.  I know this is going to sound incredibly weird, but here it is.  I've started my third novel, and when I'm in the "discovery" draft, I need loud, jarring music.  If I were to psychoanalyze myself, maybe that's the only thing that drowns out the critic inside my head?  So anyway, right now, I'm heavy into KEXP, a local station that plays eclectica.  When I head into revisions, I'll hit up my agent for a new playlist.  He's done a great job setting me up with music-to-revise-by for the last two novels! 

Last Movie Viewed: 

Perfection, a short by an up-and-coming filmmaker, Karen Lin, starring Ming-Na.  Karen is definitely someone I will watch eagerly to see what she does in the future.

Literary Crush (real or fictional): 

Mr. Darcy, the once and always romantic hero, with or without portrayal by Colin Firth.

Pet Peeve: 

People who clip and file their nails in public.  Need I say more?  OK, I will.  Ick.  Grooming should take place in a bathroom, door closed preferably.  Who wants to be nailed (pun unintended) by a stray, flying clipping?

Current Obsession: 

Green tea frappuccinos--but only if it's made Tokyo-style.  So here's how to order bliss at Starbucks:  tell them to hold the syrup, double the matcha, and no whip.  Yes, you'll sound very high-maintenance, but who cares?  Your taste buds will salute you.

Guilty Pleasure: 

See above.  Green tea frappuccinos, I'm telling you:  calorie-worthy.

Irrational Fear:

Huntsmen spiders.  Well, given that they are basically the size of a paperback, I suppose it's not an irrational fear per se.

Favorite Word: 

Syzygy.  I just came across that one while researching planets.  It's the term to use when the sun, moon, and earth line up, which is cool in and of itself.  But also, check out the three y's in that single word.  Amazing, yes?