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November 28, 2007
The Reincarnationist: An interview with author M.J. Rose
The Reincarnationist
While I was in Miami for the Miami Book Fair International, I had the opportunity to have dinner with author M.J. Rose. This was incredibly exciting for me because I had just finished her most recent book, The Reincarnationist
First, a little background.
I got a copy of M.J.'s latest book almost three months ago and it kept sitting there on the top off the bookshelf in my bedroom, taunting me. I keep the books on my "soon-to-read" list right there by the door so that if I need one for the bus ride I can grab it and go. But for the past couple of months I've been so busy that reading has fallen way down on my list of things I have time for, and Lord have I missed books.
Reading is my very favorite past time and my oldest friend. I learned to read when I was very small, and I have always been a fast reader, someone who can get so involved in a story that hours pass (delicious when that happens) and real life seems full of stories just waiting to be told. We moved around a lot when I was little, sometimes two or three times a year, so I never had many real friends growing up. It's hard to make friends and just leave them again a few months later. So I had books as confidantes: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Betsy, Tacy and Tibb, and all of the Lloyd Alexander magical characters, and of course the Scholastic hits. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Go Ask Alice!! Sweet Valley High. Gone With The Wind. Anne of Green Gables.
I read everything I could get my hands on, and it drove my folks a little nutty the way I talked about Laura Ingalls like she was MY sister, or the way I knew all about the entire life of Anne Frank but couldn't seem to remember things such as "pick your shoes up off the floor." I took a book with my everywhere -- I would read in the car, at the dinnertable if no one was looking, at the laundromat. You could just escape into a good story, it made everything in the real world seem a little softer around the edges, as if your dusty little smalltown life could be magical too if you just believed in storytelling enough. I believed. I have always loved books, even the smell of them makes me happy.
Also, I am not a book snob, I've always been an equal opportunity reader. I did go through the highbrow "I read nothing but classics and cutting-edge literature" phase (coupled with my highly aromatic Patchouli phase, alas, gasp.) I even remember once -- before a date with an adjunct History professor who I was TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH OHMYGOD -- I actually hid my copy of Wifey behind a strategically placed Henry Miller. If that isn't pie-pan-shallow trying to be deep I don't know what is.
Anyway, aside from that ill-fated and smelly phase I've always enjoyed books just for their appeal at the moment, and I've never cared much if they fall into some category or not. I read children's books and history pieces and paperbacks (LOVE my Sidney Sheldons and Michael Chrichtons!) and I like cookbooks, Henry James and anything first-person, especially from the European front of WWII. I am a nerd. I also like chick lit and lit-lit and feng shui manuals and self-help guides and biographies.
I go through phases, if a particular author gets me going I'll read everything he or she has written, or if a subject sticks with me I go through the aisles of the library combing for more information (I am a magnificently dorky history nerd. If I ever went back to school, I'd do it just to learn more history.)
But sometimes life gets so freaking hectic and busy and all the sudden reading a whole book -- a hardcover, even! -- feels impossibly decadent. I would reach for M.J. Rose's thick hardback book and suddenly the litany started: I should be writing emails, sending off packages, cleaning the house, visiting grandma, finishing up that powerpoint for work, returning phone calls. On and on. The idea of grabbing a novel and spending an afternoon reading it in bed or on the sofa or sprawled on a chaise lounge in the back yard, or propped up against the pillows as the cats snuggle around your legs ... it all seems as realistic as marrying George Clooney. Like that's gonna happen.
The happiest thing about traveling for the book tour, however, was that during all that time spent waiting in airports and sitting on airplanes it was simply impossible to clean the house, work on presentations or go to the mailbox. You just sit.
And read.
And read!
My Review of the The Reincarnationist
I'll be brief here:
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
It's fun! It moves quickly, it's a top-notch page-turning thriller and best of all I just escaped right into it. This book was exactly what I needed at the time. I had been stressed out, exhausted and scared of being able to make it through what would become the busiest time of my entire life. So I carried M.J. Rose with me those first few weeks, grabbing a chapter here, a chapter there, and finally finishing in Peoria, on an airplane, where I turned to the person next to me, shut the book with a sense of authority, looked her right in the eye and announced, "YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK."
If you like romancy-adventure-escapist-mystical-adventure-thriller-historical books, this one is for you. Lots of folks have compared it to the DaVinci Code and it is kind of like that book in the sense that it moves quickly, takes place both in modern times and in the past, and sort-of-kind-of involves theology. But this book also is about reincarnation and at its center is a believable character who makes the topic seem more accessible. And as far as books go it gets one of my highest compliments: it's a can't-put-it-down book! It's just fun. You're not plowing through it, wondering when the chapter ends if you can make it through another. You finish a chapter and wonder if you have enough time before the plane boards to read another chapter...
Also, it immediately made me want to phone Astrologer Phyllis and find out if I had any past lives. Not that I am crazy, much.
The Interview
From L-R: Kim Weiss, boobs, amazing author M.J. Rose.
M.J. Rose and my publicist Kim are friends and so I'd like to thank them both for allowing me to ramble on and on at the restaurant over The Reincarnationist
And now that I have written a whole book and I know exactly how hard it is to come up with a storyline that doesn't sag I was that much more excited to be able to pick her brain and see how a best-selling author many times over dreams up her stories, fills them in, and how she decides on just the right ending.
- - -
Me: When I read the book, I felt like so much of it was part of Rome, the history and city. What came first, an interest in ancient Rome and ancient history or an interest in Reincarnation?
M.J. Rose: I'm not interested in Roman history at all. [Ed. Note: I gasped aloud. In the restaurant. Because she had written the Rome scenes so well!--laurie]
I mean, it's not that I'm not interested in Rome, I just don't have a particular thing for it, you know? I've always been fascinated with the idea of reincarnation, though. When I came up with the idea for the story and started writing the book, I just knew it had to take place in Rome.
Me: How did you know?
M.J. Rose: I don't know.There's something magically weird about writing fiction. I'll have an idea, and I usually start with a "What if...?" For example, what if a guy, a normal rational guy who didn't believe in reincarnation started having flashbacks that only could be reincarnation memories?
So then I spent about three months making this scrapbook... for this person.
Me: For the main character of the book, Josh?
M.J. Rose: Yes. And I created this scrapbook for him. What is he like? What would he wear? where does he go? And I included theater tickets and birthday cards and all sorts of things. What happened to him when he was two years old? And who was his father? And what was his mother like? And I created all this to make him come to life. And as it turns out, I finally realized it was... well, it was three months or more of procrastination. [Ed. note: we started laughing, me maybe louder than is required, because DO I KNOW ABOUT PROCRASTINATION. Yet my procrastination efforts were never that productive. I made note of her methods for future procrastination needs.]
Me: Wow, you really did some character development...
M.J. Rose: Well, what happens during that time is that the person comes to life and their story starts building unconsciously in my head. So by the time I'm ready -- however long that is -- I just know the story.
I go swimming in the mornings and while I swim, I think about the character. And for me, there's just something about water... for coming up for ideas. [Ed. note: I am the same way, except for me it's the shower. I get all my best ideas in the shower. Sometimes when I'm in desperate need of a good idea, I spend half the day showering...]
M.J. Rose:And while I'm swimming I kind of feel like I'm in an altered state -- not a weird altered state -- just thinking, and so to answer your question, How did I know it was Rome? I don't have the memory of exactly how I knew it, or when exactly I decided it ... it just evolves. The whole story evolves each day, and it evolved that he was a Roman priest and she was a Vestal Virgin. And so I had to do Rome.
Me: One of the reasons I'm so excited about The Reincarnationist is that it's so well done, it's a fun and escapist adventure book but at the same time it's got all this historical plot going on, and it doesn't get messy. And now that I have written a whole book, I finally understand how incredibly hard it is to make a story come together. To write the story accurately did you have to do a lot of research?
M.J. Rose: Yes, definitely. I had over 1500 pages of research. Luckily I had been to Rome three or four times, so it wasn't as if I were writing a bout a place I had never seen, ever, that would have been far more difficult. Usually a book takes a couple of weeks of research, but this book required so much -- I had never written anything that required that amount of research before. It took almost two years to write and research it.
Me: One of the things I thought was so great about Josh is that here's this character having these experiences of reincarnation memories, and yet he doesn't even believe in reincarnation! Was that part of the plan, to ease the reader into the story?
M.J. Rose: This is a series, and I really wanted to do the books right, so I figured I'd start with someone who didn't believe in reincarnation. See it through his eyes. Initially, I started with another idea for this book, involving a completely different character but it just wasn't working, so Josh is this other character, just reinvented.
Me: So is there a secret past-life regression society like the one that exists in the book?
M.J. Rose: No, nothing like that, nothing secret and so on, but for thirty years there was a man named Ian Stevenson who devoted his life to studying past-life regression in children and it was all very above-board. He died this past summer and another man named Jim Tucker has taken over the place.
Me: Did you ever have a past-life memory? Or an experience that made you so interested in the subject of reincarnation.
M.J. Rose: When I was a kid we were having dinner and my great grandfather who had come over from Russia was there, we were all around the table. I must have been around three years old at the time and while we were at dinner and I said, "Remember that time we broke all the windows..." and everyone became very quiet. And I would apparently tell him things, and before long the family became convinced I was reincarnated. And of course, being Jewish this was a problem for so many of my family. But my mother, she was a very interesting woman, she began to do research and found there was a long history of reincarnation stories in Jewish mystical writing. She sort of made it a family joke, we'd be talking about something that happened in the past and she would laugh and say, "Oh you were probably there..."
Me: When did you first start thinking about writing a story of reincarnation?
M.J. Rose: I was writing a screenplay, this was years ago, and it involved reincarnation. So I went to a past-life regression specialist.
Me: Ooooh! Really?
M.J. Rose: Yes, but I was never anyone famous. (laughs)
Me: Without giving away the ending... did you know how the book was going to end before you got to the ending?
M.J. Rose:I had written an ending -- a different ending -- [Ed. note-- HAH HAH! Suckers! She told me the alternate ending! I feel very in the know. Alas, I can tell no one.] and I gave the book to a friend of mine to read, and she said to me, "M.J., I think you have an ending here but you don't want to see it..." and she was right. So I did change the ending to what it is now, and it was the right ending all along.
Me: So how many books are in the series? And will we see some of the same characters again? Are you already working on the second book?
M.J. Rose: I'm almost finished with the second book, it takes place in Vienna.
Right now I know that there are three books at least, but there could be twelve in the series. As far as the characters go, I've done something a little different .... this series focuses on the Memory Tools, and rather than follow one character or a set of characters around, each book focuses on a new memory tool that gets discovered. There are new characters who have new adventures, each one connected to a different tool that helps in remembering past lives.
Me: And the next book is set in Vienna? Will Gabriella be there? Malachai?
M.J. Rose: Some of the same characters may weave into the storyline (laughs) ... are you trying to get the ending out of me?
Me: Yes. Definitely.
M.J. Rose: Well, turn the recorder off...
- - - - -
After that I ordered her another Mojito, but she really can hold her liquor, unlike some people who shall not be named but can be heard on the tape saying things such as, "I love coconut cake! I had more questions but hi, waitress, can I have another beer, and don't ya'll love coconut cake? Is this the best cake blah blah blah..."
Ahem.
You can catch up with M.J. Rose on her website, and if you're interested in the subject matter of past-life experiences you can join in on the discussion on a blog she's created just for the topic. You can find The Reincarnationist at Amazon.com
Thank you, M.J. You were so gracious and I appreciate your time and I cannot wait for the next book!
Posted by laurie at November 28, 2007 11:22 AM
Comments
I love the picture with Kim, MJ, and your boobs!! I actually had a little coffee come out of my nose after reading that!! Now, back to the interview...........!
Posted by: Liz R at November 28, 2007 11:42 AM
I could have written exactly what you said about reading and growing up with books - I LOVE reading and sometimes feel way dorky for it, so thank you! I've already put this on hold at the library - if that doesn't make me even more dorky, how about the fact that I have my library card number memorized? I think the library guy even thought I was dorky last time I said "I forgot my card but I have the 16 digit number memorized!"
Posted by: Pinky at November 28, 2007 11:44 AM
OMG Pinky -- I cannot remember my own zipcode, but I also have my library card number memorized!!
Posted by: laurie at November 28, 2007 11:45 AM
Wow, this sounds like such an interesting book. I'll plan to check it out. Perhaps I should read the 14 books in my "to be read" stack first though. Although when I got your book I moved it to the top of that pile and finished it in 2 days. Maybe I should do the same with this one.
Posted by: Bevvy at November 28, 2007 11:52 AM
Pinky - I just put a copy on hold at my library, too. Alas, I had to look up my card number but I admire your dedication to the library. I LOVE libraries!
Posted by: Annabelle at November 28, 2007 12:00 PM
Huh. I have my credit card number memorised.
Just for the record, I mean.
Posted by: Marin at November 28, 2007 12:02 PM
I laughed out loud when you described hiding
Wifey behind Henry Miller....I thought I was the only one who would do something like that.
Thank you for interviewing MJ. I am so intrigued, I'll be checking out her book. It sounds wonderful.
Posted by: Mary in Boston at November 28, 2007 12:08 PM
Lucky you! Coconut cake! Oh, and what an interesting interview!
Posted by: Tai at November 28, 2007 12:09 PM
Yay! another book to add to my reading list.
I love histories about Rome, even if fictional.
Posted by: Frances at November 28, 2007 12:17 PM
You are the blog version of Oprah, Laurie's Book Club. Thanks for the interesting interview.
Posted by: Martine at November 28, 2007 12:21 PM
Hi boobs! ha ha! You crack me up! You know what? This is a book that normally I wouldn't pick up just because of the subject matter. I mean, I don't consider myself a snob as far as religion/Christianity, well, um, okay, I used to be when I was a little bit fanatical when I was young. But the older I get the more I realize I don't have all the answers, all neat and tidy, like I thought I did at one time. I believe in God, I most definitely do, but who knows what's really out there on the other side?
And now, because of your post, I am very interested in reading this book! Because it ties in so many different genres like you described and my interest is piqued - I can't wait to read it!
Posted by: Leeny at November 28, 2007 12:29 PM
I am exactly the same with getting ideas in the shower!! Once (when I had my own ensuite and wasn't sharing a bathroom) I bought those kiddies bath crayons so I would be able to write my ideas down!
Posted by: Sarah at November 28, 2007 12:29 PM
I have my library card memorized too!
Posted by: Stick Knits at November 28, 2007 12:38 PM
SNORK!!
Boobs. hehe. I too am twelve.
(lovely neckline on the boob shirt--I want to knit a sweater with that neckline....)
(Pick shoes up off the floor??? Don't they belong on the floor? I can't get my 14 yo to take his off the *furniture* (or dog. Or dashboard) and put them on the floor....)
CAP--are you on ravelry?
Posted by: Suzie at November 28, 2007 12:40 PM
Oh, Sarah!
You get the gem of the day!!!! Crayons in the shower--way way cool idea.
Now if someone would make dream crayons......
I knew my library card before my fines (shameful head drop) got too big to pay on my tiny budget....
OH!! The other thing I was going to say is that I don't feel badly (now that I am more mature (boobs hehe)) putting a book down if it's not doing its job. Life is too short.
Posted by: Suzie at November 28, 2007 12:45 PM
Hi Laurie,
I will definitely have to check into this book! It sounds very interesting!
And great interview, by the way - - even with the 'boob' shirt (yes, I am twelve also). :)
Posted by: Liz J in Illinois at November 28, 2007 12:46 PM
I can remember my first driver's license number--three states and 28 years ago. Also the license plate number of my first car. The things that take up space in my brain...
Posted by: madeleine at November 28, 2007 12:50 PM
I LOVED Ms Piggle Wiggle, but nobody seems to remember her! I'm glad you do. I love Pippi Longstocking and also Encyclopedia Brown. Great books.
I still love to read too, but like you said, trying to find the time for it is hard.
Thanks for the interview and review!!
Posted by: Lynn at November 28, 2007 12:53 PM
Great interview, Laurie! And with all your traveling, I wanted to share a product tip with you. It has made my travel life lots better and I travel a LOT. I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend the Sony eReader electronic book. Its awesome (and even available at CostCo!). The image is easy on the eye...REALLY! Not at all like reading a computer screen. And you can load it up with dozens of books, plus more on memory chips.
That way when you pack for a road trip you don't have to lug 20 pounds of books to make sure you have books from all the genre that you might possibly want to read on the trip. Instead you carry about, I dunno, maybe 9 ounces? I no longer need a massive carry-on bag to accommodate 6 books and 3 knitting projects. Now just a smallish carry-on for the knitting...and ancillary crap of course. Yeah, I suck at making a decision and sticking with it (may be why I have 7 works in progress right now -- they are NOT UFOs...I *am* working on them!) The eReader has been a huge enabler.
Posted by: Jan at November 28, 2007 01:01 PM
Jan, I have really gotten hooked on audio books lately, have you tried those, too? I love the feel of curling up with a good book in my hands but right now there just isn't any time for it, so I have switched to audio books. I load them on my ipod and listen on the bus while I knit... or snooze, if I'm tired LOL.
Posted by: laurie at November 28, 2007 01:05 PM
I'm not nearly as impressed with the boobs as with the cheeks! Looks like y'all had a fabulous night!
And if we're taking a poll, I also have my library card memorized.
Posted by: mollysusie at November 28, 2007 01:05 PM
I have always felt the same way about reading. I don't understand people who don't read for pleasure. Sounds like a good read! I will check it out as soon as I finish my latest.
And your boobs could be a little more front-n-center! HA!
Posted by: suetreiber at November 28, 2007 01:14 PM
Good interview! I also have my library card number memorized!
Laurie, I was exactly the same way as a kid. I read every chance I had and loved most of the books you listed. I was reading things like Call of the Wild when I was seven because I had already read everything in the kids section of the library. I also had a classics phase a few years back where I went nuts over the likes of D.H. Lawrence, Henry Miller and John Updike.
I used to own over 1000 books and gave most of them away when I moved. I kept all of the favorites that I read over and over (James Herriot, Gerald Durrell, Robin McKinley and Orson Scott Card, plus a bazillion gardening books). Now I have several library branches to keep me occupied, but it still sometimes doesn't feel like enough.
Have you ever read "The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All"?
Posted by: Rebecca at November 28, 2007 01:18 PM
How exciting! You Dog!
Posted by: Pamela at November 28, 2007 01:19 PM
Wow. We could have been separated at birth. My mother used to tell me as a kid "you read too darn much". This is after she would take me to my weekly trip to the library so I could load up on books. So I would hide the books in the garage, tell her I was going out to play, go out to the garage, low crawl with my book to the tree, climb the tree and read my books all damn day. Perfect.
And yes, I do have my library card memorized. And when I am sad, I re-read Anne of Green Gables and the Little House on the Prairie books as well.
I can just drink alcohol while I read them now!
(sigh) Good times.
Posted by: Sandy at November 28, 2007 01:21 PM
Laurie-- I'm SO glad you interivewed MJ Rose!! I'd read a review of the book and thought "I must read this" and promptly forgot about it--- Now I will make a point to go out and find it-- can't wait to read it-- it covers all of my favorite subjects-- past life/history/romance-- Cool!
I loved LOVED Mrs Piggle Wiggle and read like a fiend when I was a kid and had no pressing responsibilities. Now I go in spurts and read a lot for awhile until life intrudes again. As I've gotten older I've given myself permission not to finish a book I'm not hooked on. I was brought up to read the whole book and never peek at the ending early. There's still nothing like escaping into a book and going where it takes you!
And I LOVE the crayon idea for the shower-- I also need something for jotting ideas in the car-- something that won't make me rear end the car ahead of me whilst jotting.
Posted by: SuzanneO at November 28, 2007 01:33 PM
Yes, Suzie, comment of the day! I love your idea of having bath crayons to write down brilliant ideas in the shower!
Posted by: laurie at November 28, 2007 01:40 PM
Magnificently Dorky History Nerds Unite! And I too am a reading maniac. My ex thought it was weird that I read when I brush my teeth. Well, geez, doesn't everybody?
Must read this book. Thank for the interview!
Posted by: Lyda at November 28, 2007 01:41 PM
I LOVE books like that! I can't wait to read it. (Old book alert) Have you read The Eight by any chance? It's all about chess, and math, and crazy parellel events and I'm not ashamed to say I LOVE IT and would definitely recommend it.
BTW, coconut cake... amazing...
Posted by: saucygrrl at November 28, 2007 01:48 PM
SuzanneO--if your car is like mine you can jot notes with your index finger in the dust on the dashboard.
Posted by: madeleine at November 28, 2007 02:25 PM
I also don't have my library card memorized but that is because I work in a library and I don't need it to check out. In high school, my parents took all my books away because my grades were slipping (to B's! Gawd, the horror!). I still get flustered thinking about it, I was really mad.
Posted by: RobynE at November 28, 2007 02:27 PM
Ha! You are a fantastic interviewer. Also - YAY! Someone else loved Betsy, Tacy & Tib! I STILL re-read those books sometimes and will love them forever.
Posted by: Lara at November 28, 2007 02:38 PM
I learned to read when I was 4 yrs old and haven't stopped yet. I read when ever I can, including during my graduate school classes (in Library Science, of course!) and like a few others I also have my library card number memorized. And my AmEx card number, but that's an entirely different story. ;)
Highlight of my summer was meeting Judy Blume at ALA in DC. I started to cry and couldn't say anything 'cos I am truly that dorky.
Thanks for the interview/book review! I'm always looking for something to read, regardless of the genre. (I'm a medical librarian so fiction doesn't come into my library very often) Now I'm off to see if my local public library has a copy. . .
Posted by: heidi at November 28, 2007 02:40 PM
I learned to read when I was 4 yrs old and haven't stopped yet. I read when ever I can, including during my graduate school classes (in Library Science, of course!) and like a few others I also have my library card number memorized. And my AmEx card number, but that's an entirely different story. ;)
Like RobynE, my punishment when I was growing up was to have my books taken away! The horror! My parents were so mean to me by doing that. Ha!
Highlight of summer 2007 was meeting Judy Blume at ALA in DC. I started to cry and couldn't say anything 'cos I am truly that dorky.
Thanks for the interview/book review! I'm always looking for something to read, regardless of the genre. (I'm a medical librarian so fiction doesn't come into my library very often) Now I'm off to see if my local public library has a copy. . .
Posted by: heidi at November 28, 2007 02:41 PM
Ok, I haven't read past the part where you talk about your childhood reading yet, because I had to come tell you that we might be related.
I used to get in trouble during class because I was reading during class, which was somehow a problem? Teachers weren't too sympathetic to NEEDING to finish a book :)
The biggest thing that I don't like about knitting is that its really difficult to read while knitting. I've heard of the magic of books on tape, but I don't want to listen to a book, I want to read the sucker.
Books rule!
Posted by: Shannon at November 28, 2007 02:43 PM
Um, I definitely have my library card # memorized...and I totally added this book to my queue for the LAPL web site. That thing is even more addictive than Blockbuster, I go in there and make book lists all the time and then wind up requesting 10 books at a time...oh well its free right!
Posted by: Lo at November 28, 2007 03:18 PM
I've had it in the back of my head that someday I would write a book or something. Even if it didn't get published, it would be cool to do it. However, my ideas always seem to come to me while driving. I will get some great idea while I am darting down the highway and think, man, I need to carry a tape recorder or something. But, I can't see me talking into a recorder. Alas, I shall never be a world famous author. I shall have to live vicariously through you Laurie! *grin*
Posted by: Risha at November 28, 2007 04:11 PM
Wow, I'm not the only one with my library card number memorized and a big pile of books to read. Who knew? I loved your description of reading books as a kid. I worked at Disneyland during college and always had a book hiding somewhere to read on my breaks. One of the best parts of being a mom is sharing all those great books with my kids! I'm off to the library's website to add this to my queue.
Posted by: Cindy at November 28, 2007 05:43 PM
I'm another childhood book nerd. Except with me it was Stephen King, Peter Straub, Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson for my inspiration.
The Rose book sounds like a blast. I'll have to haunt the aisles of the Encino Barnes & Noble for it!
Posted by: Erik R at November 28, 2007 05:55 PM
Not only have I memorized my own library card number, but I have also memorized my husband's and both sons, plus one or two other library patrons. Yes, I have worked in a library. (I'm the one who had you sign the library copy of your book in Minneapolis!) I just requested of copy of this book from the library, plus another one recommended to me today by a friend -- Many Lives, Many Masters -- also about reincarnation. [cue weird music]
Posted by: kmkat at November 28, 2007 05:56 PM
So Laurie, I haven't been keeping up with my blog reading very well this fall...... what are you doing about WORK while you are out and about galavaning around on this book tour?
BTT lori
(BTT= behind the times)
BTW, loved your book!
Posted by: lori at November 28, 2007 06:18 PM
Add me to the list that has their library card memorized! I go to B&N website & see what's released, then get books on tape for the car. I love it, it's a great way to pass the time in the car.
I also look at BB's website for new movie releases and rent new movies from the library for FREE. I love the library!
Laurie, an idea.... I used to own a regional publication and as a "trade" I wrote a first person account of my stay and experiences at a spa. They gave me 4 days FREE in return for the article published in the magazine. That was fun. I always wanted to do that with a race car, but alas, maybe I will be reincarnated as a Formula One race car driver!
You could take a knitting "tour," write about your stops on your blog or whatever (with your famous pictures of course) and they could help pay your way.
I know you could think of many creative ways to do something crazy.
Posted by: CandyS at November 28, 2007 07:57 PM
ZOMG!!!!! Not only do I love your interview with an author who's book sounds most intriguing, YOUR book has a side banner ad on icanhascheezburger.com !!! Just saw it! WOOTAGE!!
Posted by: CarolAnne at November 28, 2007 08:12 PM
Delurking to say I thought I was the only person in the world who read the Betsy-Tacy-Tib books as a girl, except for my sister. I own the whole series, as they were the first books I bought when I started my first job a hundred years ago.
Also, loved your book.
Posted by: Kit at November 28, 2007 08:28 PM
Every summer when I was growing up, sometime between the middle and end of July, my mom would have a melt-down, take my library card away from me, and yell GO OUT AND PLAY!
I read: Shakespeare (I was 17 before I discovered that the other kids didn't understand it) science, science fiction, cereal boxes, mythology, adult fiction, and anything not nailed down.
One of the things I read was a novel called "Below the Salt" by Thomas Costaine. You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Below-Salt-Thomas-B-Costain/dp/B000E7RSQ8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196307755&sr=8-1
From your description of The Reincarnationist, if you liked that, you'll love this.
He also wrote The Black Rose, and The Silver Chalice, which I also read when I was about 12, and can recommend, although they don't involve reincarnation like Below the Salt.
I'm going to have to read her book.
Oh, and ARE you on Ravelry?
Posted by: Johann Mitchell at November 28, 2007 08:30 PM
Heh. Hey that was a great interview... not that I am that interested in the book... but all your little interludes here and there were so funny I had to bite my lip to keep from snorting loudly and waking my neighbors!
"pie-pan-shallow trying to be deep"
THAT is the first time I've ever heard that phrase and damn if I didn't laugh my arse off reading it!
My ex-Mr. X (well OK, we weren't married, but engaged) told me he loved reading Henry Miller. I had known about the author only slightly by reputation (as being one of the writers of "the classics"), but hadn't read any of his work, so I thought, "Wow, what a neato boyfriend I have! He enjoys classic literature...!" That was, until I flipped through a copy of "Under the Roofs of Paris" and saw the sheer pornography of it. I deduced that Henry Miller was nothing more than a perv in a pre-"Dear Penthouse" era. No wonder my ex-would-be-Mr. Ex kept that trash in the bathroom cupboard under the sink! OK sorry if that offended any Miller fans but COME ON! No pun intended, there, ew!
Er...I shall excuse myself NOW before it gets any worse and I start waxing *even more* idiotic.
Posted by: beej at November 28, 2007 11:00 PM
We have to be twins, separated at birth.. um, maybe not, I'm slightly older.
Do you read more than one book at a time, too? One in the evenings, one in bed, one in the bathroom, and another one while out walking in a park?
Plus, I read on the way home from the library when I was a kid. While riding on my bike.
Luckily, my mom is an equally devoted reader, stuffing her ears with her index fingers to keep out the screams of her hungry children...just kidding.
But in fact she reads a lot, too. So she never criticised her children on reading too much.
Today half of my place is stuffed with books. And cat hair, of course.
But I can't remember my library card number, because I have to OWN each book I love. I hate to return them to the library, so I prefer memorizing my credit card number.
Have a great day,
Lily
Posted by: Lily at November 29, 2007 12:50 AM
Anne of Green Gables and Girl of the Limberlost--read and reread and read again.
Thanks for the review--I'll be putting The Reincarnationist on my list.
Posted by: Linda/RV Vagabonds at November 29, 2007 06:15 AM
I KNEW we were Soul Sisters! We knit and we read everything! I go from reading historical fiction, to National Book Award winners, to TV tie-in Science Fiction, to YOUR Book! Do you also try to sneak peeks at what other people on the bus are reading? I do!
Posted by: Alyson at November 29, 2007 07:09 AM
Great interview! I love the way you write.
Also, when Rose mentioned Ian Stevenson, I about fell out of my chair. My mother works in that office and sometimes it feels like I practically grew up in there. One of my first jobs involved filing, copying, etc.. for Dr. Stevenson back when I was in high school.
Posted by: Amy at November 29, 2007 07:12 AM
Wow, that does sound like an interesting book. I'll have to put it on my list of books to get to....Someday when I have time to do something other than knit or walk the dog.
My dad is convinced he is reincarnated because when he was in Germany during WWII, he walked down a street and had a flash of how it looked before it was all bombed out. In talking to a local, he found out he was right about all the details and it kind of freaked his little 18 year-old butt out!
Posted by: Amy in StL at November 29, 2007 07:40 AM
Lyda--I read when I brush my teeth, too! My *nom de comment* says it all. . .
Posted by: constant reader at November 29, 2007 08:48 AM
Great interview!
"I actually hid my copy of Wifey behind a strategically placed Henry Miller. If that isn't pie-pan-shallow trying to be deep I don't know what is."
Woman, you kill me! And I confess, I've done this with some of my books, too =)
Posted by: roggey at November 29, 2007 08:54 AM
I'm also a member of the bookish nerd crowd. So nice to know there are others out there! I learned to read before I started school, and I've been a compulsive reader ever since. History is my favorite subject, and I wrote a master's thesis on a historical subject. If you would like to see my Journal Quilt titled, "The Girl Who Loved Words", it's here: http://www.xanga.com/weavingtheweb/624816142/2007-journal-quilt.html
Love your blog...I still have to read your book, and now M.J.'s book, too. I also cannot understand people who don't like to read for fun.
Posted by: Barbara at November 29, 2007 09:11 AM
Oh-- to answer the ones who asked, no I am not on Ravelry. I know everyone says it is AMAZING but I have really limited by blog-surfing-innernets-surfing time so I can get my other stuff done, and people say Ravelry is addictive so I am staying far away from that brand of online drug LOL.
Posted by: laurie at November 29, 2007 09:15 AM
She dreams her characters while swimming. You dream your characters while driving on the 405! Same thing!
Posted by: Neil at November 29, 2007 12:26 PM
You bet, Laurie...I'm into the audio books as well. But sometimes I just want music in my head and words on a page...even if it's electronic ink. Usually when I'm too tired to keep an accurate stitch count.
Posted by: Jan at November 29, 2007 07:22 PM
All women (inlcuding myself) wear too much black. Sigh, it's depressing.
Posted by: Kathy at November 30, 2007 03:23 AM
you're not alone. I too love the smell of books. My books are my treasures! And I always wanted to be a high school history teacher. Love me some history.
Posted by: melissa at November 30, 2007 06:27 AM
Hi sweetie!! I just wanted to say hello! I hope your commute wasn't too bad today; I heard that there's water coming from the sky over Los Angeles!! Oh the horrors!! Call the news!!
Have a happy Friday!!
Posted by: Liz R at November 30, 2007 09:00 AM
another great author to get addicted to is Bill Bryson - but wear Depends cuz you'll laugh until you pee yourself!
Posted by: AlliMack at November 30, 2007 09:36 AM
Anne of Green Gables love it live 20 minutes from the tourist house call me if you ever get here lol!!!!
Posted by: Anne at November 30, 2007 06:25 PM
{writing down title} OK. My DH claims he has a restraining order to keep me out of bookstores..."You already OWN every single book, you keep them in the LIBRARY!" He's right, but they get so testy when you pencil comments in the margins....and my Old Lady disguise works every time in B&N, too. (He did buy me a Member Card, so I don't think he's serious.) I TOO am a voracious constant reader....B&N sells a clever little bookstand; it's wire and around $5. I CAN read while knitting just plain stockinette (think "toque"). We both read while eating, especially in restaurants. Favorites? Well, I have a stalk-y obsession with E.A. Poe. Once my father (the newspaperman, whose passion for reading was my greatest legacy) said he'd buy me a nice edition of the Complete Works of Poe, if I could say "yes" instead of "yeeeah" or "Uhn-huh" for a whole month. Darn nigh killed me, but I did it. I still have it! Oh - and SuzanneO? You can get a wee little tape recorder (mine's called a "Talkman" by Sony and takes those miniature cassettes, but they hold an hour's worth) and keep it in the car. VERY valuable, in case you want to remember the license plate # of the J***-O** A****** who nearly hits you because he's on his cell phone. (Or you can quick save ideas for the Best Children's Fantasy ever in the world....except of course I didn't have mine with me when I had that idea.) Oy.
Posted by: dale-harriet in WI at December 3, 2007 07:20 AM
I just finished The Reincarnationist over the weekend - absolutely spellbinding!! I love when a good book and a rainy weekend coincide...
Posted by: Susan at December 3, 2007 07:38 AM
OMG!!!!!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVED Betsy Tacy and Tibb books.
Posted by: Nancy at December 3, 2007 11:50 AM
