nomadreader

After reading and enjoying Wendy Wax's latest novel When We Were Watching Downton Abbey (my review) , I jumped at the chance to interview her.  Who is your favorite Downton Abbey  character? It has changed over the seasons. Alas, some of my favorites are now no longer breathing, but I have a very soft spot for Mrs. Hughes, who has a great deal of warmth and common sense and survived her cancer scare. Now that Edith is becoming empowered, I am finding myself completely on her ‘team.’ Go, Lady Edith! I adore Edith too. Other than Downton Abbey , what else do you enjoy to watch on television? I’m an occasional Dancing With The Stars viewer, and I really enjoy Smash and Nashville . I also turn to old favorites like House Hunters , Property Brothers , and Income Property on HGTV as well as American Pickers and Pawn Stars on the History Channel – I can, and have, watched Mike and Frank in back to back episodes, but am very glad to see Danielle playing a bigger role! S...

After reading and enjoying both novels by Kelly O'Connor McNees ,  The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott  ( my review ) and  In Need of a Good Wife  ( my review ),   I was happy to participate in a blog interview tour in support of the release of  In Need of a Good Wife  this week. In the author's note you mention a few of the resources you used to research this story. As an academic librarian who teaches students how to research, I'm curious about your research process. How much time did you spend researching? What aspects of research were most difficult for you? I am sure I take a much more free-form approach than your students, since academic research is serious business. My research goals have to do with finding great story ideas—sometimes buried in the footnotes—and then fleshing out my setting and characters with historical detail that is both accurate and compelling. But I don’t think historical fiction should attempt to be comprehensive abo...

Last week, I had the privilege to join a handful of other book bloggers on a conference call with David Nicholls, who wrote the wonderful novel One Day ( my review ) and adapted it for the upcoming release of the movie. The film comes out next Friday, and I cannot wait to see it. We each got to ask two questions, and David was remarkably thoughtful and forthcoming with his answers. Me: David, I'm curious. As you were adapting the screenplay for One Day, was there a particular year or scene that you found to be most challenging in adapting for the film? David Nicolls:  Some, the hardest thing was always just cutting back, cutting, cutting, cutting. That was the hardest thing. The scenes that came most easily were the scenes which were the kind of two-handed confrontations because they're very faithful to the book. For instance, the scene where Dexter goes to see his mother with a hangover and the scene where Emma and Dexter go for the terrible meal and fall out, and t...

When this year's interview swaps were announced, I was thrilled to see I get to interview Lyndsey (you may know here as teadevotee ), who blogs at Amused, Bemused and Confused . Lyndsey and I have quite similar taste in books, and I'm really enjoying getting to know her this year, as we're both serving as voting members for the Indie Lit Awards Fiction category (formerly known as Literary Fiction.) Let's start with the basics. Why did you start blogging about books? I was blogging randomly about any old blather for about a year before I decided I needed more of a focus. I went with books because my reviews used to get quite a lot of interest--and because there is nothing I like more than reading:-) You've been blogging for two years now. What has surprised you the most about blogging? I was hugely and pleasantly surprised to discover the whole community. I love the way that blogging opens up a whole world of connections to people with the same tastes and se...

To celebrate this week's release of Lauren Baratz-Logsted's most recent novel, The Education of Bet , a historical novel for young adults, she is embarking on a one question interview tour. I loved The Education of Bet  (review coming tomorrow), which is the story of a sixteen-year-old girl in Victorian England who impersonates a boy in order to receive a proper education. I'm thrilled to welcome Lauren today!  My one question: Bet loves to read. Do you share her taste in reading? If not, why did you choose to her love books you don't love? Well, I can't say I've ever had to translate a vulgus as she does, but Bet loves her Shakespeare - it's reading Shakespeare to Will's great-uncle and learning to do a range of accents that convinces her she can impersonate a boy's voice - and I love my Shakespeare too. Bet really is a sponge when it comes to books and I'm the same. I read a bit of everything. In fact, it's a good thing books aren...

I am a little behind on my magazine reading, and as most of you know, I'm rather fond of too many periodicals for my own good. I've finally finished the May 2008 issue of Interview . I was eager to read it for three reasons: Interview is one of my favorite magazines because it's consistently brilliant, Maggie Gyllenhall (who may be my current favorite actress) graces the cover, and it's the first issue after Ingrid Sischy's sudden departure (she was the editor in chief for eighteen years). It didn't disappoint. The issue began with a fantastic angry letter. I can't quite explain my fascination with angry letters to magazines, but this letter may be the best, most delusional ever written. Less Sex, Please Do not ever send me another issue of your magazine. I hate it. It is so inappropriate. The pictures in the “Dream a Little Dream (of Me)” [fashion story] in your March 2008 issue are totally inappropriate. You've got a sexually inappropriate...