Maggie Stiefvater Answers Some Hard Questions

The May 13th issue of Entertainment Weekly carried a Pop Culture of My Life article in which author Maggie Stiefvater answered a series of questions like "The first album I ever bought" and "The group of fictional pals I dream of joining."

Whenever I see articles like this, I feel the same kind of anxiety I feel when I read SAT sample test questions. I know I can't answer these things. And then I feel so relieved that I don't have Stiefvater's kind of success (Exactly what kind of success do you have, Gail?) and I've already graduated from college, because that means no one will ask me any of this stuff.

Well done, Maggie Stiefvater.

What? You Don't Talk About Books At Wedding Receptions?

The family wedding I attended this weekend had a library theme. There were references to the bride and groom's bookish ways in a reading done by a librarian (or an archivist--there were a number of library and library-like people there) during the ceremony. The seating chart  and table numbers at the reception were organized around the Dewey Decimal System. Guests filled out traditional library book cards and placed them into a guest book filled with pockets to hold them.

So it was totally appropriate that in between all the merrymaking my niece, Becki, and I went over our reading. I will admit I started the whole thing when I nagged her about the Jane Eyre/Rebecca-related books I got her for Christmas and how knowledge of all things Jane Eyre will enhance her reading life. (I recently read The Likeness by Tana French and am sure I saw a Rebecca thing going on there. My life was enhanced.)

Yeah, Becki directed the conversation elsewhere. To Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, to be exact. She has a friend who's a big fan of the series, and Becki and I have read all the books as well. We both agreed that by the third one we were totally into Liraz and Ziri. Personally, I no longer remember the main characters' names.

Becki liked  The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, which I haven't read. (My niece is reading beyond me. My job as an aunt is done.) We both liked Shiver and, again, were in agreement that Stiefvater has created some fantastic book trailers. Fantastic.

Then we went on to The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, a series I got Becki started on when I gave her Cinder. I'm afraid I got her excited when I told her the last book was out. When I checked yesterday, I found I was wrong. It doesn't come out until November. I was able to direct her to Fairest, in the meantime.

I suspect Becki and I were the only ones who carried the theme as far as we did. But I don't think we went over-the-top. Though, to be quite honest, I don't know what over-the-top would be.