ARRT Takes Over the Blog: Magan Szwarek on Fox Valley Reads 2013

Take a Journey Into the Beautiful North...

I’d like to invite you to join Fox Valley Reads this October as we read Luis Alberto Urrea’s  touching, often hilarious, Into the Beautiful North. Fox Valley Reads is a community read partnership among six libraries in the Fox Valley region of the western Chicago suburbs whose mission is to “promote reading and open discussions among community members around the topics and ideas presented in a single title.”

Probably best known for 2004’s The Devil’s Highway, which won a Lannan Literary Award and was a Pulitzer prize nonfiction finalist, Urrea (pronounced oo-RAY-uh) is professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago who lives with his family in Naperville, IL. Into the Beautiful North is the story of 19-year-old Nayeli’s journey from her hometown of Tres Camarones, on the southern coast of Mexico to the U.S.  Inspired by the movie, Nayeli, along three of her friends, sets out on a quest over the border to recruit her own “Magnificent Seven” and smuggle them back into Mexico to defend her home from being taken over by a group of drug lords. Irreverent and serious, full of vivid characters and lush descriptions, Into the Beautiful North is a charming coming of age story that challenges readers’ preconceived notions of immigration both in the United States and in Mexico.

Last fall Becky conducted a fantastic interview with Erin Morgenstern, author of the 2012 FVR pick, The Night Circus. I am delighted that she has agreed to come back this year and interview Prof. Urrea in downtown Aurora, IL beautiful Copley Theatre on October 24. Becky’s will be the second in a pair of interviews, the first of which will be conducted in Spanish by Aurora area author and entrepreneur Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz on Wednesday, October 23. These events stand out from the traditional author reading, followed by a signing, because they are so intimate and interactive. Audience members are witness to a real conversation between an author and a lover of good writing.  A lot of time is afforded to audience questions...and they will be followed by a signing (of course).  

The group of librarians I work with on Fox Valley Reads are excited not only to bring the public a series of author interviews, but have a month of unique programs related to the novel for all ages as well as book discussions. For a complete list of events and discussions check out the FVR website or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

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Magan is a Readers’ Advisory Librarian for the Aurora Public Library. She also reviews reference for Booklist and is a member of the ARRT Steering Committee.

Fox Valley Reads: Luis Alberto Urrea and Me

Fox Valley Reads is an annual one book, one community collaboration of 5 Illinois libraries in the far Western suburbs of Chicago, including Aurora, IL, the second largest city in the state.

Last year, I was asked to interview Erin Morgenstern when the book was The Night Circus. You can click here for coverage of that event.

This year, the book is Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.  Last month, Magan, the Popular Services Librarian from the Aurora Public Library, wrote this guest post about the program.

You can click here for all of the scheduled events, but as for me, I will be having a conversation with Urrea on stage at the Copley Theater in Aurora at 7pm on October 24th.  This year, they are doing something a bit different to fit in with the bilingual nature of the book.  On October 23rd, Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz a local author and entrepreneur will be having a conversation with Urrea in Spanish.

We are working very hard to make the evenings as similar as possible, except for the language they are conducted in that is. Fox Valley Reads does request that you register.  You can click here to sign up for the English conversation or here for Jacqueline's Spanish language event.

But why I am posting all of this today, six weeks out from the event. There is a reason others than sheer promotion of my appearance.  Today Mr. Urrea called me so we could have a chance to talk and get to know one and other.  For the Morgenstern interview, I was able to spend 2 hours with her before the event, but due to the back-to-back night appearances this year, that will not be possible.

After our conversation this morning I am happy to report that Mr. Urrea was wonderful. He is personable and interesting.  He took time out of his very busy writing, touring, and teaching schedule to talk to me today and I appreciate that.  Also, I am happy to say he is a big horror fan too.  We traded many a book suggestion for each other.  In fact, as soon as I finish this post, I am taking his advice and reading this book.

To see an interview with Urrea right now, go to his website.  Between watching that and talking to him myself, I feel confident that our event will go very well.

I will have a review of Into the Beautiful North up on the blog in the days leading up to the October 24th event, but in the mean time, check out the events the Fox Valley Reads Committee has planned and sign up to participate.  You do not need to be a member of these communities to read the book and attend events.  The more the merrier.

And, after talking with Mr. Urrea, I am confident that this will be an awesome author event.  I hope to see you there.

Come See Me Interview Best Selling Author Erin Morgenstern!

Yes, the above title is true.  After my successful interview of Gillian Flynn last month, my friend and fellow RA librarian Magan, in the wonderful city of Aurora, IL (childhood home of my husband, and second biggest city in IL), has hired me to interview another fabulous author, who I also happen to love...Erin Morgenstern!

The Night Circus was one of my favorite reads of 2011 (use the link for proof), and ironically, Magan was the one who passed on the advanced readers' copy to me in the first place.  And, now, on October 11, 2012 at 7pm, you can come see us have a conversation at the Oswego High School Auditorium.  Click here for the full details. 

This event is part of the program Magan works on called, Fox Valley Reads.  Their mission:

Fox Valley Reads is a partnership among five libraries in the Fox Valley corridor in Northern Illinois. The Aurora Public Library, the Oswego Public Library District, the Messenger Public Library of North Aurora, Big Rock Library and the Sugar Grove Public Library are working cooperatively to encourage life-long literacy in a fun and engaging way. We will offer neighbors a chance to meet, read and talk about a book, enjoy a variety of programs and share ideas and experiences. 

Check them out here.

I have confirmed that you do not need to live in one of those communities if you want to attend.  In fact, the more people we get from different communities the better.  Libraries are all about sharing, so sign-up and bring a friend.

I am beginning to do my research on Morgenstern since she only has the one novel, but I have already found a very close connection between us, so this should be great.

If you have a question you think I should ask her, let me know by leaving a comment.

I hope to see you there.  And if you have an author coming and would rather have them do a Q&A rather than just a straight reading (Gillian Flynn told me it was way better than the same old boring reading), let me know.

Flashback to My 2013 Interview With Luis Alberto Urrea and Suggested Readalikes [and a mini-rant on diverse readalikes]

Yesterday's post where I talked about pairing your promotion of upcoming books with a backlist suggestion led me to thinking about other current releases and how I could help you promote both new and old easier. Back on March 6th, Luis Alberto Urrea's new novel, The House of Broken Angels, published with much [derserved] fanfare and press. 

I loved how during that week Urrea was everywhere, writing New York Times Op Eds, on FreshAir, and especially in all of our Chicago media [he teaches at UIC]. I am sure you had many requests for the book. While I loved this because I am a huge fan of Mr. Urrea's work [here's my review of a book I still think about and suggest all of the time, Into the Beautiful North], but I know first hand he is a wonderful person too.

How do I know? Because in 2013 I was asked to interview Mr Urrea for Fox Valley Reads. The details of the evening as well as more links to some of the planning documents are here and reposted at the end of this post.

Mr Urrea was amazing throughout this process. Not only did this event take place in Spanish and English, on two different days [I have a post here about how the Spanish interviewer and I worked together on this], but he also spent over an hour with me on the phone prior to the event so we could "get to know each other." He is smart, kind, and funny. And, I bet this comes as no shock, he is an amazing off-the-cuff storyteller.

While all of the marketing for The House of Broken Angels was happening, I kept flashing back to my interview with Urrea, and yesterday's post made me realize I should have reposted it for all of you too.

In keeping with the theme of using a new release to promote older material, take a look at this post from 2013.

But also, here is an updated diverse readalike list of authors for Urrea to help you provide pepole with books to read while they wait for The House of Broken Angels. First, you need to understand that while Urrea's plots focus heavily on the Mexican American immigrant experience, the reason his books have such a wide appeal is because they are about a duality of identity and being an outsider in general. So while a few of my titles and authors may be "Hispanic" not all of them are.

...Wait, now I need to do a mini rant for a second because that last sentence got me going....

Just because Urrea's books are "Mexican-American" in frame does not mean readers who like his books only want "Meixcan American" books. I HATE THIS. What readers love about Urrea is that he writes character centered stories with dramatic and bittersweet storylines, lyrical writing that is beautiful but still accessible, that heavily draw on the themes of identity and belonging. Yes for some the frame is intriguing, but not for everyone. Most lists with Urrea also have Sandra Cisneros too. Look, she's a good writer, but they ARE NOT THAT SIMILAR IN STYLE. You know why people put them together? Because they are Mexican. That is not helpful to anyone. We can open people up to a variety of authors from many walks of life who write similarly to Urrea who aren't Mexican American. It's not that radical people. It's what we already do for white writers.

....Okay, rant done, back to your regularly scheduled post...

Second, as I have been saying constantly these days- truly diverse lists don't only have POC or LGBTQIA authors, they have a sampling of everyone. You can see my recent updated Stephen King diverse readalike author list for more on that.

So here is a great list of other authors who come from a variety of backgrounds but like Urrea write character centered stories with dramatic and bittersweet storylines, lyrical writing that is beautiful but still accessible, that heavily draw on the themes of identity and belonging:

• Junot Diaz
• Louise Erdrich
• Jennifer Clement
• Carol Rifka Brunt
• Viet Thanh Nguyen
• Toni Morrison
• Colson Whitehead
• Mohsin Hamid
• Jonathan Safran Foer
• Cristina Henriquez

 **********************************************

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013

Luis Alberto Urrea and Me: A Recap with Pictures!

Well last night went great.  We had a nice crowd and I think people enjoyed it. As you can see I have a few pictures spread throughout this post, but for more pictures go to the Fox Valley Reads Facebook page.

As a reminder, here are the questions I was planning to ask Luis. I got to most of them.

Now here are some thoughts from me on what he said:

• Luis loves libraries and he loves visiting book groups.  He encouraged everyone to contact him about either visiting your book group in person or over Skype.  He estimates he has participated in at least 70 book clubs already and a man invited him to their Books and Guns book club in November.  He had his wife [who was in the audience] checking his schedule to see if he was available.  
• We began with Luis describing his early life as a poor kid living in Tijuana with an East Coast mother and a Mexican father.  Besides his funny and poignant impersonations of his parents, he talked about his first stabs at writing, his mother "publishing" his first book [he was the best selling author of his kitchen], and how he never thought a kid from his world could be a published author.
• His mom reading him Mark Twain is what really opened his eyes to literature and made him want to be a writer.
• Ursula Le Guin was his first big supporter and she was one of the first people to buy one of his pieces.
• We talked at length about the real people he based most of the characters off of.
• Aunt Irma is a real person.  It was his aunt.  She was the Mexican bowling champ.  And if you have read the book, the fight about Yul Brenner really happened.
• The Mexican Biker who falls for Vampy...he's a real guy from Aurora!
• Atomico is based on his cousin.
• Nayeli is a real girl.  In fact, you can listen to more from Luis and Nayeli on this episode of This American Life from 2003.  Luis is in the process of entertaining offers to turn Into the Beautiful North into a movie. He has always promised Nayeli a cut of the money he would get from a movie version.  He really hopes that happens.
• Mary Jo the librarian, who tragically passed while working at the library before the book was written, was a real librarian in Kankakee.  Her family is grateful that she now will spend eternity on library shelves.  Luis talked about a beautiful memorial to her that he participated in.
  
• That reminds me.  I did ask the question, "Why Kankakaee?" Luis shared his experiences in that city.  Most of what he said was also recounted in the New York Times by him here.  Luis has kept up his affiliation with the community and really feels it is a model city for working with the immigrant community.
• Much as I said in my review of Into the Beautiful North, Luis talked a lot about how he wanted to take a break from the heavy tomes he had been writing, and instead write a book that "made him laugh everyday as he was working on it," but still bore witness [his biggest drive as a writer] and was thought provoking.  He is honored that the book has had such "legs."  As he said most books are lucky to last 6 weeks.  The Devil's Highway is going on its 10th Anniversary and will have a new edition to honor that out next year, with new text. He said that every time something tragic or newsworthy happens on the border, the book's sales increase.  And now with Into the Beautiful North being an official NEA Big Read approved book, it's is selling well now, a few years after its publication.
• We talked about the ending and how the entire story is really about Nayeli's hero's quest to become a samurai warrior in her own right.  Luis said that he saw the book's ending not as abrupt, but as the end of Nayeli's journey to become the hero.  The audience [and I] agreed with him.  It is a powerful, epic hero's quest story even without knowing if she was successful in beating out the banditos. In fact, it is more about the quest because of the ending.   
• We did end the discussion of the book with my question about the unique set up of the book and it's subversive way of tackling the immigration issue.  I commented on how I thought the book would make anyone, from the right or the left, question how they feel about this complex issue.  He shared stories of visiting the border and the "wall," which by the way, is only 600 miles on an over 2,000 mile border, and you can simply walk around it at its end. He talked about the border jumpers and board patrol agents who both love his books.  He also expressed hope that there can be a resolution to this problem.  He thought we were moving in the right direction but then 9/11 put us in reverse.  He also mentioned that we have to solve the drug problems first.  Arms are going into Mexico and drugs are coming out all illegally and it is making everything worse. There is no easy answer, but he is confident there is an answer. He hopes to help to be part of the solution.
• He ended the night by talking about much of what he is currently working on.  He also told a poignant story about researching his mother's past as a Red Cross Doughnut Dolly on the front lines of WWII and finding pictures of her in a book.  He is working on a historical fiction novel to honor these brave but forgotten women.  He said it will freak out reviewers and fans because there will not be "a single Mexican in the book," but rather he is bearing witness to his American roots.

Overall, he was just a wonderful storyteller who cares passionately about using his work to speak for those who have been forgotten or do not have a platform to speak for themselves.  He is a honorable, good man, but he is also charming and funny.  A rare breed.  If you ever get a chance to see Luis in person, go.

Thank you to Fox Valley Reads for putting on a great program and for allowing me to be a part of it.

Some of the wonderful staff who made the
event possible [with Luis].

What I'm Reading: Into the Beautiful North

As I mentioned yesterday, tomorrow, I will be interviewing Luis Alberto Urrea for the Fox Valley Reads.  The book we all read is Into the Beautiful North.

I am going to break the mold on my review here in the interest of time.  First here is the publisher's statement on the book:

Nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who journeyed to the US to find work. Recently, it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact, there are almost no men in the village--they've all gone north. While watching The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men--her own "Siete Magnificos"--to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over. Filled with unforgettable characters and prose as radiant as the Sinaloan sun, INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH is the story of an irresistible young woman's quest to find herself on both sides of the fence.

And here is what Urrea has to say about it:

After the torture of writing The Devil’s Highway and the turmoil of completing The Hummingbird’s Daughter, I needed a break.  I might have stopped writing at all except for haiku and road journals if I didn’t owe the good folks at Hachette another book… or ten.  So I set out to make myself happy.  I confess:  this book was utterly selfish.  But I also thought that if I made myself laugh out loud every day, perhaps you would laugh too.  And we all needed a laugh. 

Still, I had made a vow to God a long time ago that I would keep elements of witness and service in everything I write.  This being, for me, a spiritual journey rather than (sigh) a commercial one.  So I worked very consciously to embed elements of social commentary, subversion, surprise and humanity in every part of the book.  Some critics were harsh at first.  Yes, I knew it was “no Hummingbird’s Daughter.”  But I also thought it had some of the most humanitarian and provocative stuff in anything I’d ever written.  The initial chuckles may have disguised that.  

I was thrilled beyond belief that Latina magazine picked it as one of its best beach-reads.  Frankly, I was enjoying a bit of pop-writing.  I wanted a sunny book that went to the beach in a mesh bag and occasionally made the reader say, Hmmmm.It felt subversive to make undocumented people the heroes of an American book.  To make the three male heroes a gay man, a Mexican bowling alley janitor, and a scary cholo from the Tijuana municipal garbage dump.  It also felt subversive to make the action-hero a 19 year old young woman undertaking a heroine’s journey—Mad Max and Beowulf have nothing on Nayeli! 

Lately, people have been clamoring for sequels.  It’s funny—time changes all careers.  Now I’m not immediately known as “the author of Hummingbird,” but as the author of Beautiful North.  Here’s what readers and a couple of critics (hello, Alan Cheuse)  want to see:  1) the battle of Tres Camarones; 2) Tacho’s big gay wedding.  YES! 

I was pretty sure I had done something right when I was mocked for an hour by an atheist friend for putting so many ridiculous religious images in the book.  Then, when I got home, I had a letter from a nice Illinois church lady chiding me for the anti-Christian bias in the book.  For the record:  this time I have to side with the atheist.

So between these 2 statements you get a very good idea of what Into the Beautiful North is about.

So let me talk about some of the appeal. What is most striking about this book is the unique premise Urrea has concocted and the amazing characters.

Let's start with the premise.  As I noted here yesterday,

...the most striking thing about the story-- it’s set up.  I love that they are sneaking into the US to bring the undocumented workers back home.  It is a funny, touching, bittersweet, and quite honestly a subversive premise.  And it is so very original since most of the crossing the border literature and news today is so polarizing and political.  Instead you turn the entire issue on its side, forcing readers to rethink their own beliefs and opinions about illegal immigration.

This is an extremely thought provoking idea.  Characters along the way comment on how interesting Nayeli and her crew's task is, how noble, how counter intuitive.  This original set up makes for a story that is able to walk the tightrope between serious, heartfelt, and humorous without missing a step.

And then there are the characters.  Urrea alludes to how unorthodox his heroes are above.  You fall in love with this rag tag bunch as you read along and follow then on their quest.  If you are a reader who enjoys fully rounded, rich characters, this is a book you should not miss.  Each one is unique and what is unique about each character is helpful to the group on their road trip.

I could write a post each on various characters, that is how great they are.

It's funny, I know people who read for character and others who read for plot.  Into the Beautiful North is that rare book that could appeal to both.

Reading Into the Beautiful North was by far the best reading surprise I had this year, maybe in many years, especially considering I HAD to read it for work.  I didn't even need to like it to be able to interview him well.  I loved this book and will be telling many people about it.

Finally, I want to note there is an underlying spirituality to this, and all of Urrea's work.  There is no overt religion, just an overarching belief and faith driving the characters (some more than others). But as he said above, both religious people and anarchists have found reasons to dislike this book.

Three Words That Describe This Book: original, character centered, thought provoking quest

Readalikes:  First, visit the official Fox Valley Reads list of readalikes.  It is extensive and hits on the obvious read alike areas.

That list almost makes my job harder.  I have to think outside the box.  But hey, it is what I do.  So I am going with matching Into the Beautiful North with other original, thought provoking books, with quests of some type that still have a happy and bright tone.  It is not easy to find those, I know, but that is why I loved this book.  It gave me something unexpected that made me think AND smile.

Here are some books I have read that fit that mold. These titles share very little beyond what is in bold above, but that combo is so rare I think it is worth mentioning it.  You will not find these books showing up as readalikes in traditional sources. The titles link to my reviews with more detail and even more readalikes.

• Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters (I read it and I think it is the best match here)
• Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple (I read it) 
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (read it, and its the Berwyn Reads book)
• The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
• The Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley

See some of you tomorrow night.

Luis Alberto Urrea and Me: A Recap with Pictures!

Well last night went great.  We had a nice crowd and I think people enjoyed it. As you can see I have a few pictures spread throughout this post, but for more pictures go to the Fox Valley Reads Facebook page.

As a reminder, here are the questions I was planning to ask Luis. I got to most of them.

Now here are some thoughts from me on what he said:

• Luis loves libraries and he loves visiting book groups.  He encouraged everyone to contact him about either visiting your book group in person or over Skype.  He estimates he has participated in at least 70 book clubs already and a man invited him to their Books and Guns book club in November.  He had his wife [who was in the audience] checking his schedule to see if he was available.  
• We began with Luis describing his early life as a poor kid living in Tijuana with an East Coast mother and a Mexican father.  Besides his funny and poignant impersonations of his parents, he talked about his first stabs at writing, his mother "publishing" his first book [he was the best selling author of his kitchen], and how he never thought a kid from his world could be a published author.
• His mom reading him Mark Twain is what really opened his eyes to literature and made him want to be a writer.
• Ursula Le Guin was his first big supporter and she was one of the first people to buy one of his pieces.
• We talked at length about the real people he based most of the characters off of.
• Aunt Irma is a real person.  It was his aunt.  She was the Mexican bowling champ.  And if you have read the book, the fight about Yul Brenner really happened.
• The Mexican Biker who falls for Vampy...he's a real guy from Aurora!
• Atomico is based on his cousin.
• Nayeli is a real girl.  In fact, you can listen to more from Luis and Nayeli on this episode of This American Life from 2003.  Luis is in the process of entertaining offers to turn Into the Beautiful North into a movie. He has always promised Nayeli a cut of the money he would get from a movie version.  He really hopes that happens.
• Mary Jo the librarian, who tragically passed while working at the library before the book was written, was a real librarian in Kankakee.  Her family is grateful that she now will spend eternity on library shelves.  Luis talked about a beautiful memorial to her that he participated in.
  
• That reminds me.  I did ask the question, "Why Kankakaee?" Luis shared his experiences in that city.  Most of what he said was also recounted in the New York Times by him here.  Luis has kept up his affiliation with the community and really feels it is a model city for working with the immigrant community.
• Much as I said in my review of Into the Beautiful North, Luis talked a lot about how he wanted to take a break from the heavy tomes he had been writing, and instead write a book that "made him laugh everyday as he was working on it," but still bore witness [his biggest drive as a writer] and was thought provoking.  He is honored that the book has had such "legs."  As he said most books are lucky to last 6 weeks.  The Devil's Highway is going on its 10th Anniversary and will have a new edition to honor that out next year, with new text. He said that every time something tragic or newsworthy happens on the border, the book's sales increase.  And now with Into the Beautiful North being an official NEA Big Read approved book, it's is selling well now, a few years after its publication.
• We talked about the ending and how the entire story is really about Nayeli's hero's quest to become a samurai warrior in her own right.  Luis said that he saw the book's ending not as abrupt, but as the end of Nayeli's journey to become the hero.  The audience [and I] agreed with him.  It is a powerful, epic hero's quest story even without knowing if she was successful in beating out the banditos. In fact, it is more about the quest because of the ending.   
• We did end the discussion of the book with my question about the unique set up of the book and it's subversive way of tackling the immigration issue.  I commented on how I thought the book would make anyone, from the right or the left, question how they feel about this complex issue.  He shared stories of visiting the border and the "wall," which by the way, is only 600 miles on an over 2,000 mile border, and you can simply walk around it at its end. He talked about the border jumpers and board patrol agents who both love his books.  He also expressed hope that there can be a resolution to this problem.  He thought we were moving in the right direction but then 9/11 put us in reverse.  He also mentioned that we have to solve the drug problems first.  Arms are going into Mexico and drugs are coming out all illegally and it is making everything worse. There is no easy answer, but he is confident there is an answer. He hopes to help to be part of the solution.
• He ended the night by talking about much of what he is currently working on.  He also told a poignant story about researching his mother's past as a Red Cross Doughnut Dolly on the front lines of WWII and finding pictures of her in a book.  He is working on a historical fiction novel to honor these brave but forgotten women.  He said it will freak out reviewers and fans because there will not be "a single Mexican in the book," but rather he is bearing witness to his American roots.

Overall, he was just a wonderful storyteller who cares passionately about using his work to speak for those who have been forgotten or do not have a platform to speak for themselves.  He is a honorable, good man, but he is also charming and funny.  A rare breed.  If you ever get a chance to see Luis in person, go.

Thank you to Fox Valley Reads for putting on a great program and for allowing me to be a part of it.

Some of the wonderful staff who made the
event possible [with Luis].

Erin Morgenstern--The Day After

So last night Erin Morgenstern and I had a very fun conversation in front of about 300 library patrons from the Fox Valley.  As promised, I have a short report on how it went.

• I am happy to say Erin is a delightful person.  She is engaging, interesting, and fun.  She truly loves answering questions and interacting with fans.  She mentioned multiple times how crazy her life has become, but was so happy to be in the position she is.  She was also a good sport, pulling 6 winners of a free copy of the book on stage.
• Her mom is a school librarian! 
• The Night Circus won the Alex Award from the ALA.  This is an award given out to books which were written for adults but have "special appeal" to teens. When we were back stage waiting to go on, I told her it was my favorite award.  She said, "Oh, I have a good story about that. Ask me when we are out there."  So I did.  She said, when she began writing seriously, she thought she wanted to write to a YA audience but was having trouble doing it.  Then she read John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things and loved it.  She noticed in the back that it won the Alex Award.  After reading a description of the award she said to herself, "That's what I want to do."  With the Alex Award in the back of her mind, she wrote The Night Circus. I found her story about the influence the award had on her as an author very uplifting, but also, it was an affirmation of all of the hard work the ALA award committees do (on a volunteer basis).  Authors pay attention.  Thanks for the nod of support Erin.
• She shared that she writes in bursts.  She does not sit down every day and write.  She will work on her larger pieces for days or weeks at a time, writing constantly.  She then puts it away and goes back to what she wrote with fresh eyes a bit later.  She does however, regularly write short flash fiction pieces to go with the photographs a Chicago based friend of hers takes. You can see the pictures and read the pieces on her blog here. 
• The movie version of The Night Circus is moving along. The executive producer of the Harry Potter movies has been hired to oversee it, Erin will be seeing a screen play soon, and the people involved want to honor the book and her wishes.  She is optimistic it will go well.
• An audience member who had listened to The Night Circus wanted her to talk about that a bit.  Jim Dale, narrator of the entire Harry Potter series and famous Broadway actor, did the audio version.  Erin was there one of the days of taping and watched in disbelief as the famous Jim Dale was reading her book.  At this point, she noted, the book had not come out yet, and she was still finding it hard to believe anyone was going to read it.  She reported that Dale basically records the book in one take, reading 3 pages at a time.  They then go back and fix any lines that were not perfect to drop in later, and then he moves to the next 3 pages.  As he was reading, he stumbled over a character name, turned to Erin and said, jokingly, "Why did you name her Tsukiko? It is so hard to say"  She felt so bad.  She told him she never dreamed he would have to say it.
• People ask her all the time if she thinks magic exists.  To this she says, magic exists if you believe that magic is when the extraordinary happens.  "How can I not believe in that?  Look it my life now."
• She shared that she is currently working on a project that (as of now) is best described as a "Noir version of Alice in Wonderland." Sounds like a great book to me.

On a side note, the readers' advisor in me could not let her go without giving her a reading suggestion.  I told her I thought she would love the Locke and Key series by Joe Hill.  She told me it was in her to-read pile, and now, after I book talked it to her, she would move it to the top of the list.  Her hesitation came from the fact that she likes to wait until a series is complete before beginning it.  I told her Locke and Key will be done in a year, so if she started now, she would not be left hanging for long. 

As I said last night, those of us in libraries greatly appreciate when authors come to support us.  It means a lot.  Thanks to Erin Morgenstern for agreeing to be interviewed and for staying late to sign a ton of books.  And thanks to Fox Valley Reads for asking me to be a part of a wonderful night.

RA for All Roadshow: Up Coming Appearances

I mentioned yesterday that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, but a large part is that is due to 3 upcoming appearances and my annual 31 Days of Horror Blog-a-Thon over on RA for All: Horror.  Also, today I am finishing up a brand new read alike article on Jennifer Egan for NoveList.  You should be able to access that by the end of the month on NoveList.

As I am putting the finishing touches on these 3 program appearances, I thought I would let you know where I would be and what I would be talking about in case you either wanted to join me, or you were looking to see what my newest offerings were for your 2014 planning.  And that is important because my 2013 is closed for appearances (even virtual ones).  Also, I am booked solid for March 2014 already (more on that in a few months).

So if you are interested in having me come to your library, conference or training, either in person or virtually, please contact me for February, April, May and/or June 2014 by November 1.  I do not present in July and August in order to spend more time with my kids over the summer.

Now back to my up coming appearances.

First, in the coming weeks I will be writing a lot about the Berwyn Reads selection and programming this fall.  We pick one book for the entire community to read every other year.  This year it is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Click here for my full and glowing review of this novel.  Mr. Cline has agreed to let me interview him on Skype at no cost to us in October.  Currently, we are working on the interview date but I do know the interview will feature questions from the students at the local high school who are reading the book right now in class.  We have Mr. Cline's permission to film the interview. I will post it here, and the high school students will all have a chance to gather together to watch it.  While the interview is my only "appearance" for this event, I will be busy most of the Fall, along with the rest of the BPL RA staff, hosting programming, book discussions, and an all ages 80s themed prom to close the Berwyn Reads program. The festivities begin October 1. I will be posting out awesome promotional materials here soon. I just saw the proofs yesterday and they are GREAT.

Second, as I mentioned here, I will be interviewing Luis Alberto Urrea for the Fox Valley reads program.  I have already talked about this, so please refer to this post for details and to sign up.

It is important to note that for both community read events, you do NOT need to be a resident of the community to participate in any of the programming.

Finally, I have just finalized the details of my scheduled in person my appearance at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Library Association Annual Meeting on November 12.  They contacted me last spring with an interest in making readers advisory the focus of their meeting. I will be presenting the keynote to the meeting in the morning where they have requested a 2.5 hour version of my Bridging the Physical-Virtual Divide talk.  This will be a great opportunity for me to develop a more detailed talk on this topic.  I will also be doing an afternoon breakout session with a streamlined version of my 10 Rules of Basic RA Service.

I hope to see some of you at these events in the coming weeks. And if you cannot make it, I will have materials and information about all of these appearances available to everyone here on RA for All.

Now back to Jennifer Egan for me.

Luis Alberto Urrea and Me Live in Aurora: Info and Questions Below

Okay, we are moving into full on promotion mode here on RA for All leading up to my conversation with Luis Alberto Urrea live on stage this Thursday night. Have I mentioned it is absolutely free!  All you need to do is click here and register at some point before you show up.

Today's post is all about the details of the event, including a sneak peek at the questions I plan to ask him, while tomorrow, will be all about the book and include my review of Into the Beautiful North, the novel which is the impetus behind the event.

[For the record, I thought I would like the book, but I was surprised to find how much I loved it.]

First, here is the article that appeared in The Daily Herald about the event.  They did include quotes from me about the book and what to expect on Thursday.

But, what I really wanted to share with you here today are the questions I am planning to ask Urrea.  I wrote these questions in advance because they will also be used for the Spanish language interview which is taking place on Wednesday [you can register for that here].

Why am I sharing these questions with everyone who reads the blog, even those who are not going to come? I have 2 very good reasons that keep with the blog's overall mission and are not simply about me promoting me.

1.  I want to use these questions as a learning opportunity for all of you out there.  More and more librarians are getting the chance to interview authors, especially via Skype.  Authors have found that talking with readers, especially those who are attending library events (Big Read, book clubs, etc...) is a great way to promote themselves and their work to people who will not only buy and read their books, but who will also spread the word about how nice it was to communicate with the author.

However, while librarians are getting more opportunities to interview authors, there is very little training out there to teach them how best to do it.  I hope my questions will help in that regard a bit.  As you will see below, I am trying to ask questions that begin a conversation between Urrea and myself.  These are not book discussion questions.  I don't need to ask him how something in the book made him feel, like you would in a discussion group.  Rather, I am asking about inspiration, process, and author intent more. I hope these questions either help you if you are interviewing an author or inspire you to try to contact an author who is interested in being interviewed.

2.  Fox Valley Reads is not video taping the event, so I cannot share the interview with you.  I hope that a combination of seeing the questions here and me reporting on what happened will give you the best second hand experience I can provide.  Last year I felt like my report of the interview with Erin Morgenstern was not as useful as it could have been.  When I was on stage with Morgenstern in a conversational setting, I could not take notes on her answers.  And, when I went back to report on our conversation for all of you from memory, it was harder to recreate what happened since I did not post my planned questions ahead of time.

I did not want to rehash the entire thing in a question and answer format, and I still do not plan to do that this year, but I think my report will be better framed for those of you who only experience it here on the blog if you see the questions I am asking ahead of time. At least, that is the plan.  I just want to make my post about the conversation more useful to you.

Anyway, here are the questions.  Please note, some of these questions will not make sense if you haven't read the book. Also, I will probably not get to ask all of these questions, but it is much better to have more than you need going in.

Look for my review of Into the Beautiful North sometime tomorrow and look for a report on how the interview went on Friday. [In between on Thursday, I plan to run my book discussion group report]

Finally, much of what I am asking, I already know the answers to because of things I saw Urrea say in this interview.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

General Questions:

1.  You grew up in a unique multi-ethnic household in a border community. How did your early years shape the writer you are today?

2. Your years as a missionary in Tijuana have had an obvious influence in your work, beginning with The Devil’s Highway. While that book is literally based on your work as a missionary, there is an overwhelming spirituality to everything you have written. Can you elaborate on the role this spirituality plays itself out in your writing process?

3. You came to writing through an amusingly circuitous path.  Can you share your unique story with us beginning with your family’s tradition of telling stories?

4. If he doesn’t mention it in 3 above, ask who his writer influences are. Which writers have influenced you.

5. Not only was your route to becoming a writer nontraditional, but you are also “un-nichable” as a writer-- which must drive your publisher crazy-- haven written critically acclaimed nonfiction, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and now even graphic novels. I think this is testament to your talent, but really, can you tell us how you are able to master all of these formats? Does a story or idea present itself to you in a genre, or do you let the story take you where it wants to and figure out the style or genre along the way?

Into the Beautiful North Specifically

6.  Let’s move to Into the Beautiful North now.  I have to begin with the most striking thing about the story-- it’s set up.  I love that they are sneaking into the US to bring the undocumented workers back home.  It is a funny, touching, bittersweet, and quite honestly a subversive premise.  And it is so very original since most of the crossing the border literature and news today is so polarizing and political.  Instead you turn the entire issue on its side, forcing readers to rethink their own beliefs and opinions about illegal immigration. Where did you come up with this unique idea and were you consciously trying to enter the immigration debate from a new angle?

7. I don’t want the seriousness of the previous question to lose sight of the fact that this book is quite funny. You were able to pair serious moments with laugh out loud ones. Like life at the dump in Tijuana with the entrance of Atomico! Can you talk about your use of humor here.  And, please can we talk about Atomico a bit too. He is obviously there for something more than comic relief.

8.  While we are talking about specific characters, I want to move into a few others.  As you said on your blog:

“...To make the three male heroes a gay man, a Mexican bowling alley janitor, and a scary cholo from the Tijuana municipal garbage dump.  It also felt subversive to make the action-hero a 19 year old young woman undertaking a heroine’s journey—Mad Max and Beowulf have nothing on Nayeli!”

Let’s talk in a bit more details about the three heroes here we haven’t mentioned yet.

9. The gang all get their inspiration to save their town from the movie The Magnificent Seven (and its inspiration, the Japanese film, The Seventh Samurai). How did those movies influence you before you wrote Into the Beautiful North?

10. And yet, the story veers from the inspiration works and turns into more of a spiritual journey/ road trip tale. Why the switch?

11. Okay, I have to ask.  Seriously, why Kankakee?

12. Nayeli is the moral center of the group and the novel as a whole, so it is very fitting to have her sum up the entire book with “We are all in God’s Hands.” What are you saying about Nayeli’s quest and about all of our journeys as people through this world here?

13. Interestingly this novel has received criticism from the Right and Left, from believers and atheists in equal measure.  First to that I say, well done.  You have offended everyone.  That is impressive.  But second, I want to ask: did you anticipate these responses?

14. Why end the novel just as the fight for the soul Tres Camarones is about to begin? It was an interesting choice since the two movies your work is modelled after end with the battle between the good guys and the bad guys. You obviously made a conscious choice to end the novel differently than its inspiration pieces.  Why?

At the end I plan to ask...

--What authors are exciting you these days? Who do you love to read?

--What are you working on now?  [I always like to end with this question.  FYI, he is working on a horror novel; click here for more on that.]

Round-up of Library Sponsored Author Visits Coming 10/12

October is shaping up to be a big month our Chicagoland libraries to bring out some big name authors.  All of these programs are completely free and open to anyone who signs-up ahead of time.

• Deerfield Library is hosting Cory Doctorow on Tuesday 10/9 at 7pm at the Deerfield High School Auditorium.  Sign up is required here.
• I am interviewing Erin Morgenstern on 10/11 at 7pm for the Fox Valley reads program through a bunch of libraries.  Use this link to read more and sign-up.
• Author Sara Paretsky is coming to Dominican University (where I begin teaching the RA class tonight).  I am bringing the entire class.  Mandatory sign-up is here.  This one will fill up.  Hope to see you there.

RA for All Roadshow: Me Interviewing Erin Morgenstern Tomorrow!

Today I am putting the final touches on my interview questions for Erin Morgenstern.  There is still time to register for this free event at Oswego High School tomorrow night at 7 pm as part of Fox Valley Reads by clicking here.

If you have any questions for Ms Morgenstern, there is still time to get them in to me.  Just leave a comment.

I also wanted to pass on this link to her fabulous website, and this one to a great interview she did with GoodReads.

Finally, below is a re-post of my initial review of The Night Circus, which I wrote last December, way before I was asked to interview her.

I hope to see you there tomorrow night at 7pm.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2011

What I'm Reading: The Night Circus

It is always refreshing to read a book with heavy hype and find it simply charming.  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern fit this bill for me when I read it this fall.  Before I get into the details, I want to say that while I was reading this book I was utterly captivated.  This was by no means the best written book I read this year (it has some first novel issues and could have used cutting in some places and beefing up in others); however, I cannot remember the last time I read a book which sucked me into its world and refused to let me go.  Maybe it was when I read Harry Potter for the first time.

The set up here is simple.  2 aging magicians meet to have another competition; one in a long line of competitions they have engaged in over the years.  They each find a young child to become their protege.  As the two children grow up, they are pitted against one and other in a test of their skills and imagination.  The venue of this battle is an amazing circus, but the two young people (a boy and a girl) do not know each other; they just know they must continue to act upon the circus to keep the battle going.  What the terms of engagement are, and the consequences of losing are not known, but it is clear that they are severe.

That is the plot, but it is not even close to the reason you would read this book.  This is a novel that needs to be discovered.

The Night Circus is all about the details and the characters.  The story bounces around between different character's points of view and even to different years (but the date is clearly marked at the start of each chapter).  We see how the competition affects dozens of people, changing the course of their lives.  These characters drive the narrative.  Their relationship to each other, but more importantly to the circus itself, is a joy to watch unfold.  Some grow and some crumble, but all are both interesting and thought provoking.

So, you need to be okay with a book that jumps between characters and subplots quickly.  All points of view and subplots add depth to the story.  It worked for me because it enhanced the power of the circus. I suggest you simply let Morgenstern take you along on her ride.  For some it may be too confusing, but for me, it was a joy to be so entertained in such an original and intricately built story.

I actually found the relationship that develops between the 2 magicians themselves the least satisfying part of the book, but it didn't really matter to me.  My enjoyment went back to the circus itself and the characters' places within it.

I loved the details of the circus itself.  The two magicians build new attractions and tents trying to up stage each other.  New sections begin with descriptions of these wondrous inventions.  These sections were the best part of the novel.  I read them over and over.  The language was lyrical, the descriptions captivating and enchanting.  I was left begging to go to the actual circus.

There is also a clock, the clock-maker himself,  and those who become groupies of the circus which I also enjoyed following.

Again, I am trying to be vague but still articulate the book's appeal.  I want readers to discover this book on their own.  Giving any of the wonder away would be unfair.  The wonder is why a reader will fall in love with this book.

I do have to say that while this novel is filled with beauty, there is also an underlying darkness that permeates the story from the first page on.  This intense magic has serious consequence for all involved.  Watching the characters come to terms with the price they have paid by being a part of this enchanting world is also a reason I  liked this book.  I did find the ultimate conclusion of the novel only partially satisfying, but to be fair, the book was so captivating that I think no ending would be perfect.  Readers will not want to leave the world Morgenstern created, so as a result, would not be happy with any ending.

If you want a book which will take you away to a magical world that will take a hold of you and threaten to never let you go, read The Night Circus.  It is a great option for a plane ride or vacation. It is not perfect, but it is mesmerizing.  I will put it on my sure bet list for years to come.

Three Words That Describe This Book:  captivating, magical, lyrical.

Readalikes: Neal Wyatt had this great list of Readalikes, Read Arounds, and Watchalikes.  Please use the link to see her suggestions.  I will not repeat any of them here.

If you like The Night Circus, run, do not walk, to the library and check out Steven Millhauser's Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer.  This novel won the Pulitzer in 1997, but has become largely forgotten.  I am telling you now though, fans of the descriptions of the circus itself and those who were caught up in the awe of its beauty need to read Martin Dressler too.

Two other lyrical, magical, and captivating books with interesting characters about whom you come to care deeply are The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier and Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.

Although I do not personally like Lev Grossman's The Magicians series it should be a solid suggestion for most fans of The Night Circus.

For those who liked the more macabre aspects of The Night Circus, a better choice would be Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

For people looking for more books about or set in a circus, click here for some suggestions I have made in the past. ("the circus" is one of my personal favorite frames).