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If writing fiction were an Olympic track event, Jodi Picoult would be a gold medalist. At 42, Picoult has published 16 books, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Change of Heart and Nineteen Minutes and has become one of the world's best-selling novelists. Often described as a writer who straddles the line between literary and commercial fiction, she is known for her artful family dramas that play on hot-button, ripped-from-the-headlines themes, such as spousal abuse and euthanasia. Her latest novel, Handle With Care, centers on the family of Willow O'Keefe, a smart, beautiful little girl with brittle bone disease. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children. Visit her website at www.jodipicoult.com
What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer -- and why?
- Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
(literature and fiction, classics)
"Gone With The Wind. I read it when I was twelve --I was a total dork, and memorized huge sweeping dialogues I could act out as both Scarlett and Rhett. But what stuck with me was the way Margaret Mitchell managed to create an entire world out of words. I thought, "I want to do that." "
Source:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
What are your favorite books, and what makes them special to you?
- The Sun Also Rises By Ernest Hemingway
(literature and fiction, classics)
"Because no one can say as much as Hemingway does, with so little words." - The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
(literature and fiction, classics)
"The gold standard for unreliable narrators. " - Turtle Moon By Alice Hoffman
(literature and fiction, romance)
"The first Alice Hoffman book I read, and to me, she's a writing goddess. " - Midwives By Chris Bohjalian
(literature and fiction, mystery and thrillers)
"Very few male writers can pull off women narrators as effortlessly -- and as honestly -- as Chris Bohjalian." - Peace Like A River By Leif Enger
(literature and fiction)
"A little gem of a book, by an author I can't wait to see more of." - Life Of Pi By Yann Martel
(literature and fiction, mystery and thrillers)
"This book is about a boy and tiger shipwrecked on a life raft in the middle of the ocean... but it's really about the power of faith and narrative. I closed the book and thought, "Gosh, I wish I'd written that" - The Virgin Suicides By Jeffrey Eugenides
(literature and fiction)
"The only book I've ever read that's written in the rare second person form... and that pulls it off." - The Deep End Of The Ocean By Jacquelyn Mitchard
(literature and fiction)
"OK, I discovered this book about six months earlier than Oprah, and it was the only one I've ever thrown across a room out of sheer emotion, because the storyline tapped into my biggest fear as a mother." - The Catcher In The Rye By J. D. Salinger
(literature and fiction, classics)
"I love adolescent narrators, and this may very well be why. Teenagers have a natural sense of when someone's faking, but still are childlike enough to not have given up hope that the world can change -- and Holden Caulfield epitomizes this." - The Paper Bag Princess By Robert N. Munsch
(children books (Ages 4-8), children books, adventure, teens)
"A children's picture book about a princess who uses intelligence, not brawn, to rescue an inept prince -- and then realizes she doesn't need him to live happily ever after. I just loooooved reading this one to my daughter! "
Source:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
In a brief Q & A with the Daily Mail, bestselling author Jodi Picoult comments on books in her life:
What Book ARE YOU READING NOW?
The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. What is interesting about it is that it's the first book I have read on my Kindle e-reader.
- The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle By David Wroblewski
(literature and fiction)
"I was very excited because the book is more than 800 pages long - no one wants to carry that around - but it is so incredibly compact this way.
It's a great story about a mute boy who can communicate only with his dogs, but what really makes it are these little nuggets of beautifully written metaphors and similes that are dotted like pearls throughout the text."
Source:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
What Book WOULD YOU TAKE TO A DESERT ISLAND?
- The Collected Works Of Alice Hoffman
"That's a really hard one. I'd probably take the collected works of Alice Hoffman - my favourite author. Her books are what made me fall in love with reading as a grown-up, so I don't imagine I shall ever get tired of reading them."
What Book FIRST GAVE YOU THE READING BUG?
- Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
(literature and fiction, classics)
"Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, which not only gave me the reading bug but also the writing bug. I read it when I was 12, and used to recite whole scenes as both Rhett and Scarlett which is probably why I didn't have a boyfriend until I was 17! I was amazed at how Mitchell could create an entire world out of words. I wanted to do that, too."
What Book LEFT YOU COLD?
- The Da Vinci Code By Dan Brown
(literature and fiction, mystery and thrillers)
"I could get into trouble with this, but I am going to say The Da Vinci Code. Although I don't deny Dan Brown any of his success, I don't understand the hype over such a poorly written novel - and as an author who does all her own research, I know better than to consider myself an expert in the field I am writing about. I believe this was an error in judgment for this particular author."
Jodi answers questions for The Sunday Times (South Africa, August, 2006)
The first book I ever read and loved was…
- Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
(baby books (Ages 0-3), children books, children books (Ages 4-8), adventure, sci-fi)
The best book I've read in a long while was…
My favourite hero of fiction is…
Who is your favourite fictional character?
- A Tie: Lady Brett Ashley From The Sun Also Rises, Because Unrequited Love Is The Saddest Story There Is. And Scarlett O'hara From Gone With The Wind - Because She Is Tough As Nails And Thinks She Knows Everything, But Still Has An Achilles Heel (her Heart) That Makes Her Realize She Doesn't Know Anything Important At All.
Source:
http://www.jodipicoult.com
Which of your books is your favorite?
- Second Glance: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
(horror, literature and fiction, mystery and thrillers)
"In more than a decade, every time I've been asked this, I always have said, "Oh, that's like asking me to pick which kid I love the most!" or in other words, something I wasn't ever going to do. But right now, I do have a personal favorite - Second Glance. I think it's the most complex book I've written to date, and I am incredibly proud of the characters in there…some of whom I've never seen in fiction ever before. Plus, it addresses themes and concepts that are rarely discussed in fiction. There's a real tendency when you write to think that Shakespeare did it all, and that we just recycle it…so when you feel like you've broken new ground as a writer, it's a big deal. For all those reasons, I think Second Glance is my biggest accomplishment to date. "
Source:
http://www.jodipicoult.com
What is the best book you’ve read lately?
I loved The Story of Forgetting, by Stephen Merrell Block, and The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. And Anita Shreve’s Testimony is, I think, the best thing she’s ever written!
Source:
http://www.jodipicoult.com
Why should you listen to her?
Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of sixteen novels, including Keeping Faith, Vanishing Acts, The Tenth Circle, Nineteen Minutes, Change of Heart, and Handle with Care. She received the 2003 New England Book Award for fiction and was the recipient of the ALA's Alex Award for her novel My Sister's Keeper. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.
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