Chris on Reading Backwards

As a reader, I am by no means a completist. I tend to jump from book to book and author to author without much thought about it beyond “what’s on top of the closest pile to this seat?” and “am I in the mood for a serious literary exploration of the contemporary milieu or for something with megasharks and meth gators in it?” I think a part of this is that even if I love a book, when I flip to the good old “also by” page in the front, the author’s list of other work starts to look, to me, an awful lot like a required reading assessment sheet. And if there is one thing I cannot do, it’s required reading.

A frequent conversation from my schoolboy years:
“Chris, you were supposed to read the book.”
“Look! I read four other books!”
“But you were supposed to read this book.”

Don’t ask me where this started. Perhaps it’s just a symptom of my suspicion of authority - a think-for-yourself streak that is, semi-ironically enough, generally encouraged by, you know, reading books. I’m incapable of taking any book recommendation that starts with “oh, if you loved book X, then you are going to be crazy about book Y” - because, let’s be honest, I’m never going to love book Y. Instead, I’m going to spend the whole read comparing the two in my head so I can tell you why why book x is far superior. What can I say, I’m competitive in weird ways.

I’ve even managed to skim right past books and writers who are, deservingly, considered classics and all time greats by those in the bookish know. In fact, read this whole post for an ultra-embarrassing literary confession.

But - but but but - every now and then, a book is so good that I have to spend more time with the author. It’s usually a writer’s voice, the kind that grabs me from the first page and weasels its way into my head until I can’t stop hearing it. Or it’s a writer with such an original perspective on the world that I can’t wait to have my mind re-blown. And then that Also By page starts looking a lot less like a chore and a lot more like something to celebrate. Yay, there’s more to read by this freakin’ genius!

And so - how about some of the authors who’ve inspired this sort of backwards reading for me?

First and most recently, the book that inspired this post - if you’ve followed this blog, you know a couple weeks ago I interviewed Rufi Thorpe about her latest novel, The Knockout Queen. It’s my favorite book of the year, and her writing voice is so good - smart, funny, written with uncanny clarity - that I had to read more. And so I just finished her first novel, The Girls from Corona Del Mar. In her interview, Thorpe said this - “For me the novel is kind of philosophy with tables and chairs and fruit and sex in it.” And that couldn’t be more true of her first book, a decades-spanning story of a friendship that asks the big questions about motherhood, responsibility, life, and death, that’s so full of beauty and brutality. It’s another stunner, and Thorpe’s second novel, Dear Fang, With Love, is next up on my stack.

An author I’ve been reading since grad school (ten years ago, yikes!) when I was living in his hometown is Stewart O’Nan, but it wasn’t until his 11th book that I finally got it together to read something by one of Pittsburgh’s literary hometown heroes. Last Night at the Lobster is an unforgettable singe-day-in-the-life-of-a-failing-chain-restaurant-manager novel that crams more life into just over 100 pages than a lot of books cram into three or four hundred pages. I had to read more. I haven’t read every book of his (yet!) but a couple particular favorites of the O’Nan canon (the O’Nanon) are The Night Country (sadly out of print) and Snow Angels, which of course was the novel-turned-film that catapulted O’Nan’s career.

One more book I finished recently was so good I had to share it with my girlfriend, who red it all in a day on our couch intermittently shouting to me, “Mr. Lanksy has written quite a book!” Why was she shouting? I was sitting three feet away! That’s simply how good Sam Lanksy’s Broken People (out June 9) is - so good you have to shout. It’s rangy, searching, and razor-sharply self-critical autofiction about Sam, a broken young writer desperate to be healed via a weekend ayahuasca trip led by a bougie middle-aged white guy shaman. So good, in fact, that I immediately purchased a copy of Lanksy’s first book, a memoir called The Gilded Razor about Lanksy’s youth as an all-star student at an elite New York City prep school whose addiction to prescription pills spirals rapidly out of control. And how good is that? I couldn’t yet tell you - said girlfriend swiped it the moment I bought it into the house and has yet to give it back!

Okay, as promised, my super-embarrassing literary confession. For years - and I mean years - I never read Joan Didion. Oh, I pretended I had for sure, but I never actually got around to it until a few years ago. And now that I’m hiding behind the couch while you chuck things at me, let me explain. It was, again, a part of my knee-jerk reaction that the moment someone starts calling a writer “the voice of a generation,” and “the premier chronicler of America” I start to go, “this sounds like homework.” Obviously a mistake, which I found out a few years back when staying at my father’s house and, too lazy (yes, laziness does, as you’ve notice, influence how my reading selections trend) to go find something else to read, I picked up the copy of The Year of Magical Thinking that was on the bedside table. Blown away. Immediately, I had to read more. I tore through the classics like Slouching Toward Bethlehem and The White Album, but my still-my-favorite no matter what I read is the immerses-you-completely-in-another-place-in-time novel, Play It As It Lays. And now I no longer have to lie about reading Didion.

Five Questions for Pat Zietlow Miller

From Jenny: Today on the blog I’m chatting with New York Times bestselling author Pat Zietlow Miller about My Brother the Duck, her adorable new book about welcoming (or not) a sibling. Pat’s latest is perfect for kids ages 3-7 and guaranteed to cause smiles and laughter in grown up kids of all ages.

Here at Boswell, we all have our favorite picture books, and we all know that outgrowing picture books would be like outgrowing birthday cake. It just doesn’t happen. Picture books help adults remember what it’s like to be a kid and help kids work through problems like not being particularly excited about a baby brother.

“A baby was bad enough,” says Stella Wells, fledgling scientist, at the start of My Brother the Duck. “A duck was unacceptable. Research was obviously required.” How cool is the juxtaposition of a super-smart girl who loves science against the sweet childhood misconception that a person could be related to “waddling, quacking, broad-billed baby duck?" One of my favorite things about picture books is that no concept is too far out there!

Jenny Chou: Welcome, Pat, and thanks for joining me on The Boswellians Blog! I always like to start by finding out more about the main character’s biggest problems. It doesn’t matter if you're writing picture books, middle grade, or literary fiction for adults. Every main character stumbles over some sort of obstacle on her way to the end of the book. Beyond having a brother who might be a duck (which might actually be kind of fun), what are Stella's challenges as she determines if she’s truly related to water fowl or not?

Pat Zietlow Miller: Like all good scientists, Stella is on a quest to discover the truth. She has information﹣ things she’s seen and heard. And, she understands the scientific process﹣form a hypothesis and test it. But, Stella is only a kid, with a kid’s limited view of the world and how it works. So there are clues she misses and information she misinterprets. And, those things get in her way as she does her research. But, she keeps working and trying and is so earnest. She wants to get it right, and that counts for a lot.

JC: What inspired you to tell a story about an inquisitive girl who loves science? If you could be a scientist, what kind would you be?

PZM: I’ve always been fascinated by how kids can hear adults joking and take them very seriously. When one of my daughters was little, she was at a summer art camp. The instructor told her: “If you keep asking questions, I’m going to have to charge you extra!” She came home very concerned that this was true. I had to reassure that the teacher was joking, and she could ask all the questions she wanted, and we wouldn’t be getting an extra bill. So, when Stella hears her dad joking that they must be expecting a baby duck, she takes his statement at face value.

I thought it would be cool if she liked science and was smart enough to know that she should conduct research. Early on, I considered having Stella be a detective with a case to solve, but that seemed a little too close to Nate the Great. As for what kind of scientist I’d be if I could, I think I’d be a geologist. I enjoyed the one geology class I took in college, and I have a rock-loving daughter. (I also have a picture book that’s all about rock love coming out in 2021 from Sourcebooks.)

JC: I can see teachers being excited about your book on rocks! I love the bright colors the illustrator, Daniel Wiseman, used in My Brother the Duck. Seems like just the kind of cheer kids need in their lives right now. And grown-ups, too! Can you tell blog readers how authors and illustrators get matched up in the world of publishing?

PZM: Sure! It’s probably the most frequent question I get. I write the story and focus on making it the best it can be. Then, if I’m lucky, there’s a publisher that wants to buy my story and turn it into a book. Once that happens, the editor and the art director at the publisher look for an illustrator to create the art. They’re looking for a person whose art will be the best match for the text. And because they do this for a living, they have access to talented artists around the world. Quite often, they choose the illustrator and let me know who it is. Sometimes, they send me options and let me weigh in.

Some people are astounded when they hear this. “YOU DON’T GET TO CHOOSE?” they ask. Well, no. And I’m okay with that. I’m a writer, not an artist. I don’t have access to tons of talented people around the world. So I’m happy to pass that off to the folks who know more about it than I do. Once the illustrator is chosen, he or she creates the art. Again, I stay out of it. When I was writing the story, the illustrator wasn’t hanging over my shoulder telling me what to write, so I extend them the same courtesy as they draw or paint. And the final results are always great. I’ve never been disappointed. Good illustrators add more to the story than what’s in my words. They make it deeper, richer and more meaningful.

JC: What’s it like working with an editor to bring a picture book to life? Can you tell us about the revision process? Do you do any more revising after you see the illustrations?

PZM: I love working with editors to make my story the best it can be. Even when an editor loves a story enough to buy it, there always are revisions. Editors are a fresh set of eyes and a wealth of publishing knowledge. I’m always amazed by how a story I thought was finished can become so much better after working with an editor. Once the illustrations are done, there’s often some final tweaking of the text. If the art is showing something clearly, I can often take words out of my story. Doing this helps the final book be as strong as possible.

JC: Let’s imagine you get to be an Indie bookseller for a day! Are there any new picture book releases you’d suggest we all check out?

PZM: Oh, yes! I’ve been buying and reading a lot of books as I shelter in place, and these are some I’ve especially enjoyed recently:

Where'd My Jo Go? by Jill Esbaum and Scott Brundage. This story, written in perfect rhyme, is about a dog temporarily separated from his truck-driving owner. It has humor and so, so much heart. And, it’s inspired by a true story.

Cat Ladies by Susi Schaefer (Abrams Books for Young Readers). This turns the stereotype of one lady owning several cats right on its head. This cat, Princess, owns several ladies, thank you very much. It’s clever and fun.

A Portrait in Poems: The Storied Life of Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas by Evie Robillard and Rachel Katstaller (Kids Can Press). The lovely and engaging writing in this book brings possibly unfamiliar artists - Matisse, Cezanne, Gauguin, Marie Laurencin, Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Picasso - to today’s kids in an accessible manner.

The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho and Jess X. Snow (Kokila). This doesn’t come out until August, but I can’t wait to get it. It’s a story based on the haenyeo, Korean women who dive off the coast of Jeju Island to harvest mollusks and seaweed from the ocean floor.

Thanks so much for joining me on the Boswellians Blog, Pat! Follow Pat on Instagram @patzmill and Twitter @PatZMiller. Be sure to take a look at My Brother the Duck and all of Pat Zielow Miller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling Be Kind, on the Boswell Books website.

Laffin' with Madi - The Funny Books Blog Post

From Madi: Right now, everyone everywhere is facing a difficult time. Whether you are cooped up at home or still working, almost everything is unfamiliar and a bit frightening. Lately I have been getting a decent number of customers who ask for some escapism, whether that be through a fantasy series or a mystery to engross their attention, or just something funny and light. I usually spend my free time with horror or true crime, but right now even I need something uplifting. So, I decided to revisit some books that really made me laugh- not just a slight chuckle under my breath, but a hearty, out-loud laugh.

Like many, I have been binge watching (and re-watching) Bob’s Burgers. It is one of my favorite shows, and my go to for when I’m in a bad mood or feeling down. Luckily, the voice actor behind the titular lead has a hilarious book: Failure is an Option: An Attempted Memoir by Bob himself, H. Jon Benjamin. This memoir has some of the funniest anecdotes, like Benjamin accidentally letting his neighbor’s house get robbed as a kid, that stick with me to this day.

For another familiar voice, this one from the podcast Two Dope Queens, I recommend Phoebe Robinson’s You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain. This collection of essays is more insightful than just personal accounts, as many deal with topics like sexism and racism, but it still is full of humor. I started reading this book one morning and finished it later that night. It. Is. That. Good. I could not put it down. Robinson also has a second book, Everything's Trash, But It's Okay, and though I have not read it yet, the good news is if You Can’t Touch My Hair enthralls you like it did me, you have even more material from this comedic queen.

One of my favorite books to come out this year is Cameron Esposito’s Save Yourself! I have long been a fan of Esposito’s stand up; she is always honest about her experiences and has been a voice for feminists and the LGBTQ+ community. The memoir only made me love her more. Her descriptions of her awkward adolescent years and the brutal honesty of coming out as a lesbian while navigating her Catholic faith and upbringing is cemented in my brain. My love and respect for her only grew as I continued reading. It has serious parts, obviously, but this memoir is so funny I was laughing like a madman even when I was reading it on the bus. For a little more detail on this book, you can also check out my full review of it (and others) here on my staff recommendation page!

And now for something completely different. Being in the house with my husband has had me watching more Monty Python than ever in my life. He will randomly put on The Holy Grail or The Life of Brian and giggle himself silly. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy them too - but my husband has been a lifelong fan. That’s why I am including Eric Idle’s book, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Idle is my husband’s favorite Python, so while John Cleese has written enough to fill a library, it was this memoir that was his preference. From his childhood to his famous friendships to the Python’s last show, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life will give you the giggles and get the song stuck in your head. I’ve only typed it out twice, and already it’s on a loop.

Despite my spouse’s preference for old British comedy, I must include one of my favorite comic’s brand-new book that comes out June 16th. Mike Birbiglia’s The New One is the book adaption of his one man show by the same name. His comedy is less set up/joke/punchline and more in-depth story telling that winds and loops through some truly emotional stuff. This book is no different. It is his coming to terms with fatherhood when he never thought he would have a child. It details the changes to his marriage, how it affected his work life, and the mental toll it took on someone with a sleep disorder that requires he sleep cocooned, so he doesn’t hurt himself or anyone else while sleepwalking. This does not sound funny, but let me be clear: he is hilarious. The one liners littered throughout made me interrupt whatever my husband was doing on multiple occasions so I could read him the quips. It also includes poetry by Birbiglia’s wife, Jen Stein, that gives insight to her perspective on motherhood. Read this snuggled up with your dog like I did, and you too will feel warm and fuzzy.

I hope at least one of these books brings some humor in this hard time. Even if it’s just a closed mouth, through-your-nose snort, it is still something to help lift your spirits. And then, if you’re still following my lead, you can snuggle up under the covers and continue your true crime documentary marathon.

Taking Flight with Tim - Backyard Beauty

Hello from Tim. I sense that we're all working hard to keep our spirits up these days. It's not easy for me. I'm acutely aware of the pain caused by this virus, but I hear a lot of people talking about the stress reduction they get from even simple outdoor moments of relaxation. I'm finding that too, and I'm focused on books about birds to help me along. As a teacher, I got a masters degree in environmental education from UW-Stevens Point and spent a lot of time working with kids as they developed a love of nature and an understanding of ecology. There's something about open land and wooded areas that calmed me, even while I was supervising a lot of very active children. Today I'm retired from teaching, but I still have the joy of seeing and hearing birds with a wonderful four-year-old. And even if I'm only sitting and looking at the beautiful variety of Wisconsin birds pictured in these books, I feel a little better about the world. I wish everyone the best of health, and a bit of serenity every now and then.

Charles Hagner's new Field Guide to Birds of Wisconsin is simple, informative, and beautifully photographed by Brian E Small. Having to cancel Boswell's event for this book with the author at Schlitz Audubon Center was one of the big disappointments of the pandemic fallout for me. There are other great Wisconsin bird books, but the extraordinary photos, the clear organization by species, and the compact and durable design make this guide perfect for use in the field or in a living room. I also like the brief introductory information about Wisconsin landscapes, the parts of a bird, the Wisconsin "birding year," and the American Birding Association's mission and code of ethics. They talk about keeping a respectful distance from the wildlife, and of course it's also important these days to keep that same distance from the other people out enjoying nature.

David Allen Sibley, of the world renowned Sibley Field Guides, has done a remarkable new book called What It's Like to be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing - What Birds Are Doing, and Why. Its large format highlights the more than 300 dramatic new illustrations by Sibley with a clear, appealing organization. A wealth of information on the physical makeup and behavior of a wide variety of birds is presented in a beautiful design. Each double page layout focuses on one species, often with a life-sized illustration, making it a visually exciting book for sharing between kids and adults. The visuals will grab children's attention, while the facts and details about why birds do what they do will fascinate adults. This is a book to savor in your lap as you take time to look out your window.

Taking Flight: A History of Birds and People in the Heart of America by Michael Edmonds. This book captivated me! Edmonds is a wonderful writer and a member of the Wisconsin Historical Society staff. He's done his homework here. The book combines beautiful color illustrations (Audubon Prints, Edward Curtis photos, George Catlin paintings, historic maps, and much more) with exceptionally deep research. He brings together 25 years of personal work to chronicle Midwestern birds and people. His Historical Society connections gave him access to high level expertise in the fields of archaeology, history, ornithology, and American Indian spiritual practices. Edmonds writes with the skill of a historian who loves a story; he's both a birder and an intellectual at heart.

Birds of Wisconsin by Owen J. Gromme - Wisconsin's Owen Gromme has been called "the Dean of U.S. wildlife artists." His spectacular original oil paintings have often been displayed in Milwaukee. Originally published in 1963, this coffee-table sized book has descriptions of species but is mostly just beautiful reproductions of his paintings along with the traditional ranges of each bird. It's wonderful to look at, and perhaps an opportunity to learn more about a man who dedicated his life in many ways to nature.

Gene Luen Yang Visits Virtually

Jenny recaps our first virtual school visit from author Gene Luen Yang. 

From Jenny: Here at Boswell we love bringing students and authors together for school visits. Authors talk about their journey to becoming a published writer, which usually started when they were kids. They mention what inspires them to write and the research they did on their book, and they tell students about hundreds of other interesting things ranging from Dakota Territory in the 1850s to rain forests to sled dog racing to how to craft a newspaper article. Since the cancellation of all our spring in-person events, we’ve been working with schools and publishers to make visits virtual.

Students at one local school had an opportunity to virtually meet award-winning, New York Times bestselling author and artist Gene Luen Yang over, and I got a chance to follow along.

Here’s my take away from his presentation on Dragon Hoops, a graphic memoir about Yang's life, his family, and the high school where he taught for seventeen years.

At Bishop O'Dowd High School, basketball is all anyone can talk about. The men’s varsity basketball team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that’s been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships.

Gene Luen Yang never thought he’d spend five years of his life writing and drawing about basketball. He hated basketball as a kid, and because he never paid attention to where the ball was, he almost always ended up getting hit on the head. So he grew up imagining there was a wall in between him and basketball. Until the day basketball started invading his life.

First, his son joined the basketball team. And then it seemed like basketball was everywhere. Writers like Kwame Alexander wrote YA about basketball, and Asian American player Jeremy Lin became a star with the New York Knicks.

So, Gene decided to learn more about the sport, but at the school where he taught, the “nerdy teachers” like Gene (computer science), didn’t hang out with the PE teachers and coaches. So it took effort, but eventually he became friends with the boys’ basketball coach. Lou Richie was the first African American head coach at Bishop O'Dowd High School. Through their friendship, not only did Gene begin to grasp the importance of basketball in the context of American History, but he also found out that watching a game could be thrilling!

Gene spoke to students about the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone and getting to know folks who on the surface you think are different than you. He learned that Lou loved books, and that he was so great at memorizing sports statistics that other kids used to call him “The Professor.” Turned out the basketball coach was a nerd, too - a nerdlete!

By following the team for one season, Gene found out how sports are a source of stories, and he discovered there are parallels between sports and the superhero comics he loved. Both are people in costumes doing superhuman feats. But the difference is that in comics, you know the outcome. Superman always wins. But even the best sports teams sometimes lose. Pretty big stakes for a young person. He was so impressed that the students on the basketball team were willing to step into uncertainty. Gene follows this theme of being brave enough to step into the unknown over and over in his book.

Do the Dragons end up winning the California State Championships? As Gene said, “Read the book and find out!”

Questions from students & teachers:

QUESTION: What has been the international response to your books?

GENE: The book I’m most well known for is American Born Chinese, and that’s been translated into a bunch of languages. So, the response has been really positive!

QUESTION: What is the main message you hope your readers are going to take away from Dragon Hoops?

GENE: Lou [Gene’s friend, the basketball coach] was a history major and was always talking about history. He said “that things that happened in the past still affect us today.” In order to move forward, we need to have a deep understanding of what happened before... One of the lessons we can learn from World War II is that sooner or later the crisis is going to end, and it’s going to be time to rebuild, and you need to rebuild well or you’ll see the ramifications last for decades... What does it mean for us to rebuild fairly and rebuild justly?

QUESTION: What are you working on now? And what are you reading now?

GENE: I’m in a weird spot where I’m putting together proposals and ramping up promotion for [the new comic, on sale May 12th] Superman Smashes the Klan. And right now I’m reading a graphic novel called Check Please by Ngozi Ukazu, which is about a college hockey team. It’s super fun.

QUESTION: Do you have any interest in recreating some of the Chinese classics? How much has Chinese lit influenced your work?

GENE: I did a series for DC Comics called New Superman which is about a Chinese Superman, a kid in Shanghai who inherits some of Clark Kent’s powers, and one of the side characters has heavy ties into The Legend of Lady Whitesnake, a really famous Chinese story. I have thought about doing straight up adaptations of Chinese literature, but my feeling is that a lot of that’s been done, and it’s been done really well by Chinese cartoonists... Maybe the best approach is to find the best adaptations in the Chinese market and translate them into English.

Is your school interested in hosting a virtual author event? Would you like to set up an in-person author visit once school is back in session? Please contact Jenny and I’ll add you to my distribution list.

Conrad's Quarantine Reading Synchronicities

From Conrad: We are living through difficult times. If climate change, school shootings, and the day-to-day barrage of horrifying news weren’t enough to reduce us all to quivering jellies of nervous exhaustion, along comes a global pandemic to seal the deal. Reading has always been a solace and means to gaining perspective, and this is true now more than ever.

I recently came down with a cold. Bad timing. Where once I would have shrugged it off as a minor inconvenience, this time I had no choice but to sequester myself. In my two weeks of confinement, I read a few books which, coupled with a few more I had also recently read, seemed to form a kind of pattern. While it is human nature to find structure in random chaos, I seemed to be able to link these books into a grander scheme.

Anyway.

One of the more enjoyable things about being an avid reader is developing a stable of writers whose careers you follow closely and whose works you greedily devour as soon as they are out. Three of mine have new books this year: Arthur Phillips, Christopher Moore, and David Mitchell. Another perk is discovering new writers: some who are literally debuting, and others who have escaped notice until now: Steven Wright (debut), Daniel Kehlmann (his sixth book), and Tom Cooper (his second).

The King at the Edge of the World is Arthur Phillips's latest novel and, boy, it’s just great! As Elizabeth I of England lays dying, Protestants and Catholics scheme to determine just where her successor’s loyalties lie. Is James Stuart a Catholic, like the rest of his family, or is he, as he professes, a Protestant. The truth could mean a bloodbath for whichever side loses. Our main protagonist is, however, neither. He is a Turkish doctor and Muslim, abandoned in dreary barbaric England as a result of his own countryman’s petty scheming, who is forced to bear witness to the inscrutable conflicts between Christians, and play his own role in determining the outcome.

Conflict between Protestants and Catholics also forms the backdrop to Tyll, the new Kehlmann’s novel. We have moved a few decades forward to the height of the Thirty Years War, one of the most destructive conflicts in human history (it’s estimated that at least 20% of all Germans perished during this war, in some territories, over half the population died). Tyll Ulenspiegel is a legendary trickster from German folklore, but is probably based on a real person. He was a traveling performer, a bawdy vagrant who moved from village to village, court to court. For a time, he was the court jester for “The
Winter King” Frederick, so called because his reign barely lasted one season, after Catholic aristocrats drove him from the throne. This spark ignited the Thirty Years War. His Queen was the daughter of James I, the protestant king of England. As court jester to the now former King of Bohemia, Tyll revels in his role as gadfly and the only one who can speak plainly about the king’s pathetic fall from grace.

Shakespeare, who wrote during the reigns of both Elizabeth I and James I, made use of a jester to also speak plainly about King Lear’s descent into madness. Christopher Moore has now written his third satire based on the Bard’s plays, and employing Pocket the Fool as the migrating character. The first book, Fool, was a satire of Lear. The second found Pocket moving from the 8th Century Britain to the renaissance Italy of The Merchant of Venice. In Shakespeare for Squirrels, Moore has transported his fool to the ancient Greece of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (well, it might be Elizabethan era Greece, no one is certain, there IS a character named Theseus). Like everything by Moore, Shakespeare satire or otherwise, this book is shot through with bawdy humor and bumbling supernatural creatures. There’s always a bloody ghost!

Speaking of which, David Mitchell’s new novel Utopia Avenue, has plenty of ghostly hauntings. He seems to be writing one gigantic novel, as he freely moves characters from one book to another (this is his eighth), and has a carefully mapped out alternate universe that threads its way through each book, whether set in 18th Century Japan or a Polynesian island a few centuries from now, or (as here) in the 1967 Swinging London. Each time and place continues the story of sometimes benevolent, sometimes malevolent time traveling spirits. Utopia Avenue is the name of a psychedelic rock band that is just hitting the big time when their world collides with Mitchell’s universe. Their struggles and triumphs are mirrored by their guitarists’ sinister possession.

If the summer of love is an example of incurable, if drug addled, optimism, electoral politics is a cold slap in the face antidote. Election campaigns are often run by people who have slipped into a deep and abiding cynicism about its purposes and methods. You think you know cynicism? The Coyotes of Carthage will show you the true meaning of the word, and will have you on the floor laughing at the same time. A down on his luck and given a last chance political consultant fronts for a well-healed mining company that wants to get control of publicly held land in South Carolina. How do you get the flag-waving, god-fearing locals to vote against their self-interests? You get them to sell themselves out.

Just below South Carolina is Florida. If you google the words “Florida Man” up will pop a rogue’s gallery of misfits doing horrifying and horrifyingly stupid things. It seems that Tom Cooper did just that and pasted together the results to form his plot and characters in his novel, Florida Man. That may seem a bit too gimmicky (and may not be what he did at all), it nonetheless works incredibly well here.

I just googled Florida Man:
Florida man charged with assault after throwing alligator through Wendy’s window.
Florida man wears t-shirt insulting the police to court appearance.
Florida man attacked by squirrel during selfie.

Maybe laughter is the cure we all need.

Jenny Chou has Five Questions for Author Joy McCullough

Today on the blog I’m thrilled to welcome Joy McCullough, author of the newly-released middle grade novel A Field Guide to Getting Lost. Joy’s luminous writing first caught my attention two years ago with the publication of her first book, a YA novel entitled Blood Water Paint. This enthralling novel tells the story of Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi. At age seventeen, she was the apprentice to her father, a mediocre Italian painter, and she secretly filled his commissions. Written for teens who will feel empowered as they root for Artemisia, adult book clubs would enjoy a lively evening discussing her choices, too. Booklist called Blood Water Paint “captivating,” and it received a nomination for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. And made my list for Top Five Books of the Year (and I read a lot of books!)

A Field Guide to Getting Lost is a delightful read, full of humor and warmth, with an unexpected outdoor adventure. I especially loved how the two main characters, Sutton and Luis, figure out over the course of the novel that they’re much braver than they thought.

Jenny Chou: Welcome to the Boswellians Blog, Joy! Can you tell us about the challenges Sutton and Luis are facing in A Field Guide to Getting Lost? And what inspired you to tell their stories?

Joy McCullough: Thanks so much for having me! Sutton and Luis are two very different kids. Luis is imaginative and social, but he’s allergic to a ton of different things, and his very protective mom keeps him a bit isolated. Sutton’s mom, on the other hand, is all the way in Antarctica, and while she has a lot of other great adults around her, she’s really bummed Mom won’t be home for her tenth birthday. Their story first sparked for me when I was taking a walk with my visiting father who made a joke about being lost in the park. At first I thought it was a picture book, but it grew into middle grade!

JC: So cool to see girls embrace STEM, and I really appreciate that Sutton’s retired neighbor was a female computer scientist at a time when the field was just getting started for everyone. I’m guessing you are more like Luis, who is writing a Harry Potter inspired novel, with his own unique twists. But you did a great job showing Sutton’s interest in robotics and her knowledge of all kinds of scientific details about the world. How did you go about researching her love of science and robots?

JM: You are correct: I am much more of a Luis (though I do relate to Sutton’s introversion). I kept the coding research fairly simple, but I did a much deeper dive on penguins in Antarctica, which is what Sutton’s mom is studying and Sutton references a fair amount. There could be no research more fun than watching penguin documentaries (unless I’d found a way to interact with actual penguins).

JC: Please let us all know if you find a way to interact with actual penguins so we can join in too! Your background is in theater and playwriting, which I see you studied here in the Midwest, at Northwestern. How did the skills you learned writing plays and acting translate into writing fiction? What were some of the challenges?

JM: The most obvious answer is that dialogue comes easily to me, as a playwright. But more broadly, I had a solid understanding of story arcs and character development before I ever began writing fiction. I also learned from theater not to read my reviews! And how to handle rejection! In terms of challenges, I definitely had to learn to think more visually as a novelist. When I’m writing a play, I’m only responsible for the dialogue, and there are actors and designers and the director to create the world the audience sees. In novels, I am playing all those roles.

JC: Every writer seems to have a different path to publication. Some writers might have several books go out to editors before one manuscript finds the perfect home while others sell their first novel at an auction (when editors bid against each other). I’d love to hear about your publishing journey. And then can you tell us what’s next for you?

JM: How much time do you have? My journey to publication was loooong. My debut novel was the tenth one I wrote. I wrote the first five before getting an agent. Then I had five books go on submission to editors before one sold. But now, here I am a couple years after my debut, and I’ve got YA, MG, and even a picture book on the way!

JC: Wow! That’s so inspiring.

JM: As for what’s next, my second middle grade novel, Across the Pond, is about an American girl whose family inherits a Scottish castle. That will come out in 2021. My second YA also comes out in spring of 2021, but the title is unannounced. It’s a combination of contemporary prose and historical verse about the legendary knight Marguerite de Bressieux.

JC: Those new projects both sound amazing. My ancestors came from Scotland to Nova Scotia to America. Maybe there’s a Scottish castle in my future. And while we’re imagining, let’s imagine you get to be an Indie bookseller for a day! Are there any new releases you’d suggest to middle grade and YA readers?

JM: A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat is a book I am going to be raving about for a long time. It’s a middle grade Les Miserables retelling and it is utterly stunning. Chirp by Kate Messner is an empowering, engaging mystery, with a pitch-perfect approach to #MeToo for MG.  In YA, Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold is a Little Red Riding Hood-inspired novel that defies description, except to say it’s super compelling and deeply feminist.

JC: I loved Red Hood! In fact, here’s a link to my review.

Follow Joy on Instagram and Twitter @JMCwrites. She posts a lot, often with great ideas for what to read next. Be sure to check out A Field Guide to Getting Lost, which is perfect for kids in grades 3-6th. Thanks so much for joining us on the Boswellians Blog, Joy!

JM: Thanks so much for having me!