AJ Jacobs Chooses His Own Adventure Interview!

CYOAI is an interview series with authors, where I send them 10 questions, and ask them to answer whichever they feel inspired to tackle.  The questions are generally about the author's opinions and personal experiences, but are meant to be light-hearted and a window into a person's creative nature.

This month's interview features AJ Jacobs, author of Drop Dead Healthy! A big thank you to AJ for humouring me in answering my questions!  Let's see what his answers were!

What's your first book/reading/writing-related memory?

It was terrified of the book "Are You My Mother?" Childhood is stressful enough. I didn't need to read about an abandoned bird. 

Have you ever gotten a book hangover from a book?  

(A book hangover being a feeling of being unable to start another read because you're still wrapped up in the last one.)

I've gotten hangovers from writing books, where I've never wanted to write again.  But reading? It's too much of a pleasure. 

Is there one word or turn of phrase that you've felt compelled to work into your writing?

I'm a fan of the word vainglorious. I'm not even sure I've ever used it in writing till that previous sentence, but I've been a longtime fan. 

What book by another author do you wish you had written?

I'm jealous of Josh Foer, who wrote Moonwalking With Einstein. It's about how he became the memory champion of the United States. Of course, writing that would have necessitated such feats as memorizing the order of four randomly-shuffled decks of playing cards, which I'm not quite sure I could accomplish. Or pretty sure I couldn't. 

Where do you find inspiration for your writing?

I often force myself to spend 15 minutes brainstorming every day. I know that forced creativity sounds paradoxical -- but it works! 

(I wrote about it here

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131107131742-4061630-the-most-important-fifteen-minutes-of-my-day?trk=mp-reader-card )

Do you reread books?  If so, which ones?

I have the opposite problem. I have trouble finishing books because there are so many other ones I want to start. I'm monogamous in my marriage, but quote a philanderer in my reading habits. 

If you weren't a writer, what would you do as a profession?

I'd be the social media director for Praeger's, makers of delicious spinach pancakes. Highly recommended! 

What's your opinion on Shakespeare?

I might come off as a rampallian (aka a "mean wretch," I had to look it up too), but I'm only a partial Shakespeare fan. I love his use of language and his tragedies. But his comedies? I'm sure they were groundbreaking in their day, but now it just seems like a Three's Company episode -- mistaken identities, men dressed as girls, lots of puns. 

Use the word 'margarine' in a sentence.

Margarine is vainglorious. 

If you could only read OR write for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

I'd have to say write. Since, at least for now, until the publishing model implodes, I make my living that way.

**If you’re an author that would like to participate in the Choose Your  Own Adventure Interview series, please contact me at elise.guest@alumni.uottawa.ca.**

Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell



There is nothing more satisfying to an intrepid reader such as myself than picking up a brick of a book, and working your way through it.  To me, reading is as much a tactile event as a mental event, and my last read, Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell, is certainly a satisfying read in terms of heft, but not much else…

Wives and Daughters is the story of Molly Gibson and the intimates in her life.  Set in Regency England (think Jane Austen’s time-period), Molly is the daughter of the physician that services her village and the surrounding areas.  Molly’s mother died when she was very young, and so she was raised by her father and the long-term domestic staff he employed.  As she grows older, Mr. Gibson realizes he’s woefully inadequately prepared to raise a young woman, and so marries the former governess of the local Earl’s household.  The story of Wives and Daughters revolves around Molly’s relationship with the new Mrs. Gibson, her friendships with the other town’s people, her relationship with her new step-sister (Cynthia), and the new sisters’ quest for love.

In a lot of ways, this book was an enjoyable read because it reminded me of the things that I love in Jane Austen’s work.  The dialogue was quick-moving, the characters were a hodge-podge of the sympathetic and ridiculous, and the daily lives of Regency women were dynamically presented.  And yet, this is a big book that could have used some judicious editing; while all the pieces come together, as I was reading it, I was wondering why Gaskell was taking so long in telling her story.

And the telling of that story wasn’t what I expected.  For a book entitled Wives and Daughters, one would expect the plot to revolve around how the woman in the story interact with the paternalistic figure(s) in the book.  To a certain extent, that dynamic existed, but it was overshadowed by the relationships between the women; a much better title would have been “Mothers and Sisters.”  But I suppose that goes to the era in which Gaskell was writing – as the wife of a Reverend in Victorian England, she brought her world view to bear on how she interpreted her own work.  It’s something of a shame, really.

Other than these flaws in the back-ground noise of the book, I found the characters to be dynamic, the book’s a fast read (despite the social moralizing), and the plot is interesting.  My one complaint about the book is the ending – it leaves the reader hanging; Gaskell could have taken another 20 pages to round-up all her loose ends, but instead she leaves the story unsatisfyingly unfinished.

So, finally verdict?  I’m not entirely sure.  I enjoyed reading the book, but in retrospect (and after writing this review), I’m wondering why I enjoyed it so much.  I know I’m interested in reading more of Gaskell’s works, so that’s something.  But would I recommend this one?  If you’re a die-hard fan of Jane Austen, then yes – I think you’ll enjoy this book.  If you’re looking for a satisfying read in terms of tactile experience (which all die-hard readers enjoy occasionally, I think), then yes – this one would be for you.  But if you’re looking for a light-hearted romp through Regency England, then no – I would pass on this one.  

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

When I was in my mid-teens, I discovered Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.  It quickly became a favorite book of mine, and one that I read every year or so in the spring time (it’s become part of my personal literary tradition).  So, while wandering through Chapters, my eye was immediately drawn to my latest read, The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde, and my curiosity was peaked.  I know the story of JE so well, that I’m always curious to see how others view it, and how they would use in for inspiration.

The Eyre Affair is set in 1980s England in a historical stream very different from the one we lived through; in Fforde’s world, the Crimean War is entering its 132 year, the state bureaucracy is built on almost 30 levels of Special Operative departments, werewolves and vampires wander amongst the people, time travel is de rigueur, and a whole host of other pieces of our known history have change (notably, those pieces related to Churchill, Wellington, the Nazis, etc).  The main character in The Eyre Affair is Thursday Next, a LiteraTech, that is a SpecOps-27, one of the bureaucratic cogs assigned to crimes against literature; fraud, forgeries, misrepresentations, etc.  When a copy of the original manuscript of Charles Dickens’ Martin Chuzzlewit goes missing, Next is called in to investigate.  What follows is an adventure in time and (literary) space as Next works to protect the beloved literary work Jane Eyre from a mad-man who is bent on reeking havoc for the sake of having some fun.

This book is so far from the average read (in many ways) that it is almost indescribable.  To start off with, Fforde has taken such a very non-flappable approach to rewriting our shared history that he has to be commended; I found it completely believable that dodo birds have become a popular personal pet, no matter what genetic splicing accident they were afflicted with.  Not only did Fforde mess with the readers’ accepted reality of history, he also bent our understanding of the physical world; an invisible car?  Sure.  Totally believable.  But what I appreciated the most was Fforde’s creation of a society that placed such a high premium on its literary tradition.  An entire government department (with regional offices!) dedicated to ensuring the consistency and veracity of literature?  I would happily live in a world where time vortexes can open up on a freeway if I could live in a culture that so treasured the written word so much.  This ability to capture the imagination of the reader is capped off with an unctuous writing style; almost like the whipped cream on a slice of pie, the foundations of the book are strong, but accented by the skills of the writer in forming beautiful turns-of-phrase and chains-of-thought.

While the plot and writing style are unique, where Fforde really hits his stride is in creating his characters.  Thursday Next is a no-nonsense operative with a whole host of skills at her disposal, and a whole host of baggage that comes with her everywhere which she can’t seem to shake.  Her nemesis, Acheron Hades, would be a lovable rogue, if he weren’t so bent on creating havoc and destruction for no purpose other than to live up to his name.  Next’s coworkers, family and friends all have their own personal backgrounds, history, and quirks that, while not fully explained, are presented so calmly and clearly, that you feel like you know their personal histories without actually having been given anything of the sort.  Most interestingly of all, however, is the way that Fforde makes literary characters come to life.  I won’t say more on that aspect of this book, but trust me – it’s amazingly, creatively, and uniquely done.

So, final verdict?  Oh my god, read this book.  This book was a real book-hangover read for me; I’m still trying to extract myself from the world that Fforde has created.  A large part of my wants to rush over to my local Chapters and pick up the rest of the books in the series, and that’s definitely something I’ll be doing this week.  And what higher recommendation can I give?  In a world where we’re all busy to the extreme (and have no ChronoGaurd to help us sort things out), I’m desperate to give away my time and money to spend more time in the world that Fforde has created.  I can’t say it enough: go out, and read this book!

The Maid, by Kimberly Cutter

When I was 16, my mom and I took a bus tour around France.  One of the stops was in Rouen; a city whose claim to fame is being the location when Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake for being a witch by the invading English force.  What do I remember most about this stop on our vacation?  We had a lovely lunch at a crepe restaurant, and wandered past a rather small memorial to Joan in a city square.  At the time, it was just a passing activity during a full week of passing activities.  But even at 16, I was interested in (English) history, so what I took away from the stop was that the English had been really ambitious, and had managed to penetrate very deeply into France.  But after that, I stopped thinking about the 100 Years War, Joan of Arc, and Rouen.  It never figured into any of my studies in University, so when I found my latest read The Maid, by Kimberly Cutter, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to learn a bit more about the facts behind the legend of Joan of Arc.

For those (like me) who know/knew little about Joan’s story, here’s a potted history: this was an era in France of great unrest; the English were invading from the north, and the Burgundian forces were marauding out of the Paris area.  To further complicate the national issues, the crown wasn’t settled firmly on anyone; the French king had gone mad, his wife was accused of various crimes against decency, and the rightful heir was forced to flee Paris by the Duke of Burgundy and so was living as a ‘pretender,’ surrounded by a court of self-serving noblemen.  Jehanne d’Arc was growing up in the country-side during this time of uncertainty, and found a great deal of comfort from her time spent in prayer.  One day, Jehanne experienced a holy visitation from the arch-angle Michael, and later visits from the Saints Catherine and Margaret; the purpose of these visits was to direct Jehanne in how to lead the French army against the English and Burgundians and put the pretender on the throne.  After many tests of her veracity and many trails of her earnestness, Jehanne is finally put in a position of power over the French army, and leads them to multiple victories; however, the in-fighting at court slowly erodes her power-base with the pretender (by this time, and thanks to Jehann, Charles VII), until she marches into battle under-supported, is captured, and sold to the English.  After a trail for witchcraft, Jehanne was burnt at the stake.  She was 19 years old.

What I appreciated in Cutter’s work was that the historical narrative was well respected, but there was enough license taken to make the whole story a human tale.  Jehanne’s fear at being unable to live up to the expectations of her holy visitors, her struggles with earthly temptations, and her burning passions for her holy mission are all described with a real sense of humanity and believability in order to make this extremely complex and impressive period of history relatable to the modern reader.  More than just Jehanne’s story, the reader also gets a look at the human side of other various historical persons, such as King Charles, the Duke of Alençon, and Yolande, Charles’ mother-in-law and the driving force behind his claim to the throne.  

I was less thrilled, however, with Cutter’s writing style.  To me, it seemed like the narrative shifted unaccountably in the voice used; some passages are first person-present tense, others are third person-past tense.  I realize the Jehanne is recounting her story to a priest while imprisoned in Rouen, but this shifting between voices was extremely distracting and made Cutter seem like an inexperienced author (which isn’t at all true – her pedigree is strong).  Unfortunately, this (what I see) as a flaw at the very foundations of the book, made the reading less enjoyable than it could have been, and so it took me over a week to finish what could have been read in a day.

So, final verdict?  If you’re interested in this period of history (either avidly or in passing), then this book is for you; the historical narrative seems strong and well researched.  If you’re really interested, you’ll be able to over-look the foundational issues in the writing style.  If, however, you’re not a history buff of the 100 Years War, I would take a pass on this one.  There’s a wonderful short skit The Simpsons did a few years ago on this period of history – I’d strongly recommend you check it out of a quick-and-dirty history lesson on Joan of Arc.  

Robin Sloan Chooses His Own Adventure Interview!

CYOAI is an interview series with authors, where I send them 10 questions, and ask them to answer whichever they feel inspired to tackle.  The questions are generally about the author's opinions and personal experiences, but are meant to be light-hearted and a window into a person's creative nature.

This month's interview features Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Peunumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore! A big thank you to Robin for humouring me in answering my questions!  Let's see what Robin’s answers were!

What's your first book-related memory?

I don't know if this is my first, but it's among them: ten or twelve years old, stretched out on a green couch under a tall lamp, finishing THE HIGH KING, the last volume in Lloyd Alexander's CHRONICLES OF PRYDAIN, and feeling sad—so sad—as the pages dwindled beneath my fingers, because it meant I wasn't going to get to spend any more time with these characters. It was the first time—not the last—that a book made me feel sad in that way.

Have you ever gotten a book hangover from a book?  If so, which one?

I'm actually feeling one right now from HILD, Nicola Griffith's historical epic due out in November. I read an ARC [advanced reader’s copy] recently, and it's one of those books that absolutely sucks you in, not only to its world, but to its protagonist's way of seeing that world. Hild starts the book as a child and grows into a prophet, largely because she's able to recognize patterns (political, natural) that her contemporaries can't. I've been seeing in Hild-vision, or trying to, for weeks.

Is there one word or turn of phrase that you've felt compelled to work

into your writing?

As soon as I encountered the word "Hadoop"—the name of a very popular piece of open source software used to analyze huge data sets—I knew I had to use it somehow. And sure enough, it plays a pretty significant role in the plot of MR. PENUMBRA'S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE.

I mean, how can you resist a word like that? "Hadoop"!

Do you reread books?  If so, which ones?

I'm trying to do it more often. The book I've just been rereading is—you're going to laugh—SO MANY BOOKS by Gabriel Zaid, a book of brilliant essays, all about books and reading and (yes) rereading. This is probably my fourth or fifth time through. Right now, there are only a handful of books I can say that about, but I'm trying hard to increase the number.

If you weren't a writer, what would you do as a profession?

I'd probably focus more on digital stuff, either as a programmer or app-maker of some stripe. (I still do a fair amount of this now, but I

balance it with writing.) 

Use the word 'spatula' in a sentence.

My father's sword was called Doombringer; his father's before him, Doomsayer; his father's, Doom's Edge; but my blade, forged in the fires of the Darkmount, it has a different name. It is Spatula, flipper of souls.

(Okay, I realize that was actually two sentences.)

**If you’re an author that would like to participate in the Choose Your  Own Adventure Interview series, please contact me at elise.guest@alumni.uottawa.ca.**

The Painted Bridge, by Wendy Wallace

When it comes to medical issues, very little scares me these days.  Science has made such strides forward over the last few decades that, to my mind, cancers are (for the most part) beatable, HIV/AIDS is treatable, and a whole host of other, lesser ailments are conquerable.  The only things that terrify me are illnesses of the mind.  We just don’t know enough about the brain to be able to successfully treat illnesses like Alzheimer’s or schizophrenia, and my worst nightmare is to loose my current capacities to such illnesses.  My latest read, The Painted Bridge, by Wendy Wallace reinforced just how precarious our understanding is of the brain and mental health, and it really brought my fears home to me.

The Painted Bridge is set in 1859 (Victorian) London.  We’re introduced to the main character, Anna, when her husband is taking her out to the country to ostensible visit some friends; in reality, he’s taking her out to a privately-run asylum to commit her.  As the story develops, we learn that Anna read about a shipwreck off the cost of Wales, and simply left her home to seek out opportunities to help the survivors.  When she returned, her preacher-husband found her explanation ludicrous and arranged to have her locked away for hysteria.  This brings the reader to the second main piece of this story, and that’s the Lake House, a privately-run ‘retreat’ for women just outside of London; in an era where the government is becoming increasingly involved in the administration of health-services to the population, Querios Abse’s retreat is standing on increasingly shaky ground, both financial and in terms of the methods he uses to treat his patients.  The rest of the story is Anne’s efforts to remain sane in world that believes her to be tottering on (if not already fallen off) the brink of insanity.  

This book brings up several historical issues and beliefs about women that are heart-breaking.  The first issue is that women were subject to the whims of the men in their lives.  Anna went from her parental home to her husband’s without much of a chance to learn about him, or vice versa.  As soon as Anna exhibited a bit of independence (and a lack of due deference to the men in her life), she was labeled as a hysteric and locked away.  The women she met at Lake House further prove the above points – one was locked away by her family for daring to have a relationship with a man from India, another was locked up for years for exhibiting signs of post-partum depression.  Now, I’m not going to judge the past on modern standards (especially given that psychology was a fairly new science in that era), but I read these stories with a feeling that a good dose of common sense could have prevented a lot of these incarcerations.

What I really enjoyed about this book was Wallace’s ability to raise questions about almost all her characters’ sanity.  Anna seems sane, but she admits to having had visions since a young age; Abse seems reasonable, but he’s able to studiously ignore everything around him that doesn’t fit into his world-view; and Abse’s daughter, Catherine, seems like she would be a better fit with her father’s patients that Anna, but as daughter of the house, her behavior is forgiven as ‘quirks’ of character.  It’s a really slippery slope for the reader to manage – what were the true symptoms of Victorian insanity, and where does sanity and character flaws/quirks begin.  

I think what struck me so strongly about this book is that mental health (especially in this era) is/was so much about perception.  Anna found herself in an untenable position of being believed to be insane, but any emotion she exhibited over the question of her sanity was interpreted as a worsening of her hysteria, and made her vulnerable to continued incarceration.  However, while displaying calmness and acceptance, it was interpreted as progress in curing her that required extra time.  She was damned if she did, and damned if she didn’t.

So, final verdict?  I’d say this is a book to read.  The internal push and shove of the struggles of most of the characters are interesting and intriguing, and well worth the effort.  I’ll admit though that this won’t be a book for everyone – there are long passages on reflective thought and information about the Victorian sentiments that slow down the forward movement of the plot.  That having been said, the entire work challenges the reader’s understanding of sanity and insanity and, if you’re like me and fear the loss of your mind, it’s a stark reminder of just how tenuous all our lives are.

The Flappers: Vixen, by Jillian Larkin

I’m an eclectic reader who loves a good deal on a book.  I find a lot of my reads in the discount fiction section of Chapters, and I’ve always got my eyes peeled for a historical fiction, whether I’m familiar with the era or not.  That’s how I stumbled on my latest read, The Flappers: Vixen, by Jillian Larkin.  It wasn’t until I got the book home that I realized it was a teen-read; at least, that’s how the publisher classified it…  But still, I powered through and read it.

A word on plot: this book tells three stories, all set and intersecting in Prohibition-Era Chicago.  The first story is Gloria’s, a rich white girl from the debutant scene; Gloria is recently engaged to one of the most eligible bachelors in town, but she longs for something more than the proscribed life unfolding in front of her.  The next story is Clara’s, Gloria’s cousin; Clara is from rural Pennsylvania, but ran away from home for the fast life in New York, only to be disgraced and sent to live with her aunt (Gloria’s mother) in Chicago.  The final story is Lorraine’s, Gloria’s best friend; from the same social strata as Gloria, Lorraine’s life is a little less decided, and she’s desperate to emulate the flapper girls who are making all the headlines.

I’m not exactly sure where I come down on this book…  The minutia of the plots are clearly designed for teens, and the resolution of them read a bit too much like ‘they lived happily ever after.’  What’s more, I couldn’t resolve the age of the characters with their actions.  Gloria and Lorraine are still in high school, but Gloria is engaged and both girls are already living as if they’re 20-somethings.  I’m not well-versed enough with the history of the era to know if this is plausible, but if feels odd reading about how Gloria was eating lunch in the cafeteria at school, then dinner with her fiancé at the swankiest restaurant in town… something felt disingenuous, and I’m not sure what it was.

The characters were, for the most part, really annoying.  I stopped hanging out with high schools girls years ago (thank god), but this book put me right back in the middle of that mess.  “I love him, but he doesn’t notice me!”  “I don’t love him, but I feel I can’t break up with him!”  “How can I best pull the wool over my parents’ eyes?”  Blah.  I’ve been through that shit-show, and never want to go back.  The characters, other than the three main girls (i.e. the men in their lives) are actually pretty well written and dynamic, but as they are only supporting characters, they’re presence isn’t weighty enough to temper the girls’ stories enough for me.

So, final verdict?  Even though I seem to trash the book, in the end, it’s a nice little step into the speak-easy world of Chicago.  If you’re interested in the era, then you could do worse in finding a read.  I take it from the title and where the book left off that this is a series, but I don’t think I’ll be hunting down the rest of the books.  If I stumble across them on the sale table at Chapters I might pick up the next one.  So, that’s not much of an endorsement, but they can’t all be winners.