Live from LAX
As you can tell from the above photograph, I am in the airport in Los Angeles, seated on the ground next to some recycling containers because this airport has cleverly placed all of its working electrical sockets right next to waste containers. Also, it is a well-known fact that the two things I like about airports are soft pretzels and video games arcades. LAX is supposed to be a world-class airport, but I ask you: WHERE IS THE AUNTIE ANNIE'S?!!?! WHERE IS THE 1994 VERSION OF DAYTONA USA? OR SUPERTENNIS STARRING JIM COURIER?
And now, belatedly, answers to your questions. I'll be doing this again soon, so leave your questions in comments.
Q. Will you be attending AASL in October?
A. Probably not, but life is full of surprises, and I really enjoyed the AASL conference the last time I did it.
Q. What was your favorite book as a child?
A. My favorite book when I was four was called Gus Is a Bug. (The title is somewhat misleading: By the end of the book, Gus is no longer a bug; he is—surprise!—a butterfly*.) Eventually, my appreciation for the subtler entertainments offered by literature began to grow. Which is to say that by the age of nine, I was very very keen on The Babysitters’ Club.
Q. What is your favorite kids’ book now?
A. Depends on how broadly you define “kid.” But I’ll say Wemberley Worried, by Kevin Henkes.
Q. What’s your favorite book you read in high school?
A. Well, there were several books I read in high school that are favorites now but weren’t then (Gatsby, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Huck Finn). When I was in high school, I probably would have said that my favorite books were Slaughterhouse Five, Song of Solomon, and Absalom, Absalom. (I still love all those books.) I was also very fond of Jeffrey Euginedes’ first novel, The Virgin Suicides.
Q. What’s your favorite bad reality show to be addicted to even though you really hate it?
A. A few months ago, I decided to stop watching all the reality TV shows I really hate, which is all of them. It feels great, and I recommend it heartily.
One could argue, however, that professional sports is a kind of reality show (sports leagues have the same basic structure as reality shows, and reel you in basically the same way). I like sports a lot; I am particularly fond of the Chicago Cubs and Liverpool FC.
Q. Do you lend out books?
A. Yes, of course.
Q. Will Paper Towns be published in other countries on October 16th?
A. Sadly, it will not. We know so far that Paper Towns will be published in German, Italian, and Dutch. But in some countries that will publish Paper Towns, Katherines hasn’t even come out yet. So it will take awhile. I’m sorry about that! International publishing is a complicated and time-consuming business, unfortunately. If you read in English, though, you can always order the book online.
Q. Any hilariously bad book tour experiences?
A. Well, a number of my book tour experiences have involved zero or one or two people attending, which is not quite hilarious, but is certainly not, you know, ideal.
Q. Do you read any postmodern stuff?
A. Sure (I mean, depending on your definition of postmodern). Not as much as I did when I was more deeply engaged in literary theory, but I still like Ulysses a lot. I am still very fond of that moment when Molly says O Jamesy let me up out of this.
Q. When are you having nerdfighter babies?
A. I don’t know. At the moment, the nerdfighting puppy seems more than adequate.
Q. What is your book with David Levithan about?
A. It’s about two guys named Will Grayson whose lives intersect in a most unusual place.
Q. Did you cry when you were writing Looking for Alaska?
A. I cried when I was writing the final version of the funeral scene. I’d written probably a dozen drafts of that scene, and I think I was just happy/sad (or, as Amy Krouse Rosenthal would say, wabi-sabi). And I cried sometimes when reading it to myself during revisions. I cried when writing Paper Towns, too. I’m not sure whether making one's self cry while writing is good or bad or neutral, for the record.
Q. Have you ever considered writing about conjoined twins, considering how much you love them?
A. Conjoined twins obviously lend themselves to metaphor better than perhaps any other kind of twin. But no. I feel like the genre of conjoined twins novels is pretty saturated, to be honest.
* I realize that butterflies are technically bugs, but the narrative in question did not explore class insecta with any kind of detail. OH AND ALSO: I just googled "Gus is a Bug" and if you search through this thread, you can see what is apparently the entire text of that book. (I haven't seen the book in at least 20 years.) It's funny, because reading that text now as a grown-up, even without the illustrations, I am still kind of moved by the end of the story. It gets at the universal hope of transformation, of reawakening: that slim but sustaining hope that even though things have always been thus, they might become different. It is Gus! Gus has no fuzz!!
posted by John Green @ Saturday, June 14, 2008
33 Comments
33 Comments:
I loved The Babysitters Club! Who was your favorite babysitter? :)
LAX is probably one of the worst airports I have been to, and considering I live in LA, I've been there quite a lot. I think the fist place trophy for the worst airport probably goes to the Miami International Airport. Or maybe the one in Philly...
WHERE DID IT GET ITS REPUTATION AS A WORLD-CLASS AIRPORT? JUST BECAUSE OUTSIDE IT HAS PRETTY LIGHTS THAT CHANGE COLOR, DOES THAT MAKE IT A WORLD-CLASS AIRPORT? NO! Oh well.
Also... How did your interest in conjoined twins spark?
Ok, you have to explain to me why you liked Song of Solomon. I got to the end of it and was left wondering, "what is this book trying to tell me?" Was it a glimpse into the life of the black community? Was Morrison just playing around with some interesting characters? I mean, not much actually happens in the book. Macon goes on a trip to Virgina to find a bag of gold which doesn't actually exist, and alienates his family and friends in the process. During the trip he learns a bit about his ancestors, but is still rather clueless in the end.
I guess I just found it very slow, with no hooks that I could relate to. What got you interested?
Have you read "The Girls" by Lori Lansens? It is fiction, but it is about conjoined twins (and pretty well written, if i may say so [even though i listened to it {and it was the abridged version}]).
gasp! what are you doing in LA and since I live here, can i (stalk) meet you?
Other than blenderized happy meals, what's the most complicated meal you, John Green, can prepare?
dude. Wemberly Worried?
Henkes is excellent, but really?
really, really?
I think we may need to throw down on this one.
however, you have my utmost empathy about sitting next to the trash receptacles. I have done it many times myself.
Hey John!
I'm sending this around, so feel free to delete it ONCE you read it. LOL You have to read it! You know you're curious now...right? right!!
Hello:
You may or may not have heard from us in the recent past, but we are writing again to fully explain this idea. I’m from an online blog called Shooting Stars and we are working on a project. You see, I had hoped that if we were able to use a site and make a book and if people bought it, we’d make some money off of it…so we could give about half the proceeds away. I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure if that was how it would work, but I’ve decided that it should and if not, I’ll try and find a way!
Basically, we want as many people to answer this question:
“If you could wish on a shooting star, what would you wish for and why?”
We’ll include all the answers into a little book and allow people to purchase them using a self-publishing site. If we make any money off of it, we hope to donate at least half the proceeds to St. Jude’s Medical Center, a place I’ve been keen about for awhile.
So, you simply need to answer the above question, include your full name, and credit (student, singer, musician, author, etc.) if you have one!
Please spread the word. We want submissions from anyone and everyone!
Thank you for your time and we appreciate the help!
Kind Regards,
Lauren
www. shootingstarsmag. blogspot. com
P.S. If you are an author, please feel free to write a wish for a character...just include their name and the book they are from.
P.S.S. Promotion opportunities on blog on myspace!
I asked this question once before, but don't be angry with me (I'm just persistent, and persistence is a desirable quality, after all):
If we are aware that fictional characters are truly non-existent, why, in your opinion, do we apply actual human emotions to them?
i have adored you for quite sometime now, and i'd like to know how you kept writing even though you seemed unencouraged?? any tricks?
Maureen Johnson's Suite Scarlett appeared in bookstores before its official release date. Is there any chance that that will be the case with Paper Towns?
Based on your recommendation, I went out and bought Catalyst and Octavian Nothing. After I finish Looking for Alaska, which should I read first?
Hi John!
I also cried while reading your book (although cried would be an understatement, it was more like sobbing) and even now when I'm reminded of it such as in the song you posted a while ago it makes me sad (but in a good way). Anyway, i didn't comment just to share that I, like most everyone that read Alaska, reacted rather emotionally to your book, i actually do have a question. If you could be any fictional literary character, who would you be?
Ah, the Babysitters' Club were also a favourite of mine during my years as a pre-teen. Being nine and reading about these thirteen-year-olds who looked *so* mature... Kind of like reading Bridget Jones when I finally reached thirteen.
A few weeks ago I bought The Book Thief because of your extreme enthusiasm ahout it and because it was on sale. I've started reading it and am almost a third of the way through, and it is AWESOME. So thank you.
I kind of feel letdown knowing that you're fond of the Cubs, but also pretty cool because I've sat right next to those trash/recycling receptacles at LAX.
How can the genre of conjoined twins be saturated?!
I am currently reading Catalyst and love it! Thanks for the recommendation. In high school, I really liked Toni Morrison's Beloved. Have you read it/like it?
Also, have you ever considered writing in a different genre like fantasy or mystery???
It makes me so happy to see that you like Liverpool F.C. I just went to Liverpool a few months ago and came back with a ton of merchandise.
So as an aspiring writer, I've come up with a story that I really like and I've been working on it for about six months now. I'm sure you've been asked this hundreds of times, but do you have any advice for people writing in the young adult genre? Or, better yet, narrow it down. From your experience, what is the *one* thing you would say to someone who trying to break into this industry? I ask you because you're one of my favorite authors and I really admire your work.
I can't wait for Paper Towns :)
I love that you liked Babysitters Club. Ann M Martin was the first author I ever went to see at a book signing when I was 10. I know I still have that signed copy of Kristy's Great Idea floating around somewhere.
I do have a question for you though. Why is it so hard to find a copy of An Abundance of Katherines in bookstores? There literally isn't a copy in any of the major bookstores within a 30 mile radius of where I live, which is saying something as I live in Los Angeles and we have a lot of stores. I think it's quite possible that for a brief time I was actually in closer proximity to you than to a purchasable copy of your book.
Babysitters Club was cool. As a teen-ager I was too obsessed with Christopher Pike to read anything outside of that genre.
Do you have dates and cities for your Paper Towns book tour?
Hi,
I really enjoyed your novels "Looking for Alaska" and "An abundfance of Katherines" and I am writing an article about books for reluctant boy readers and think your book fits well. The article so far as interviews with authors and there books including Chris Crutcher's "Whale Talk", Jay Asher's "13 Reasons Why", Robert Lipsyte's "Raiders Night", Dennis Foon's "Skud" and Markus Zusak's "I am the Messenger".
Anyways, if you could answer the following questions I would greatly appreciate it for looking for Alaska:
1-What motivated you to write a novel about such a touchy subject such as teen suicide?
2-Alaska is a very complex character. What led you to creating such a unique character?
3-In the end, the novel is really a coming of age story, what messages do you hope the reader learns?
4-Ok, really lastly now, any other novels that you know of that are great read for high school boys.
Thanks in advance for considering my request.
P.S.-I see you have a new novel coming out. Any chance of getting an advance copy to hopefully use in my article.
dwayne.jeffery@lpsd.ca
I have a question for you...how do you keep writing your books when you know where you want to get to, but you don't quite know how to get the story there?
Btw, I just finished Looking for Alaska. Its officially made of awesome!
While you were writing your book Looking For Alaska did you have a movie script in mind
These aren't new questions, either--but I haven't seen answers to them:
What breed is Willy? (And how is he? Still have his cast? Poor baby...)
And--why aren't your and Hank's vlogs consistently posted on the ning?????
See you in Anaheim?
Ann
Hello. I found you through a friend and just now made the Looking for Alaska connection. I picked it up at school, once, and almost bought it. This isn't to say that I didn't want to buy it; I didn't have very much money (which you may have gathered, already, from the scholastic setting of my story). Anywho, I look forward to reading it soon.
becky -
My guess is that "Katherines" has been pulled from the shelves in anticipation of the new paperback release. I used to work for a bookstore, and we would pull books every month and return them to the publisher. Sometimes we would pull them because of lack of sales, but often we would pull hardcovers a few months before the paperback came out.
Just because a book isn't on the shelf does not mean it is completely unavailable. I would ask your local bookseller of choice to order in a copy for you, or you could wait until the paperback release.
Also, I want to know who John Green's favorite BSC member is. Mine was Stacey. She was sophisticated and a diabetic. I was always waiting for her and Kristy's brother Sam to make a proper go of it.
The Virgin Suicides...in your pants!
Question: How long (how many words) was Looking for Alaska, and how long (how many words) would you say a first novel should be for the YA genre?
Okay - I'd really like to see your explanation of why Their Eyes Were Watching God Is a good book. I understand I'm in high school so my take on books is slightly muddied, but seriously, the plot didn't kick in until her third marriage! The only redeeming quality was the fact that it used the phrase "put that in your pipe and smoke it"!
I just left LA on Friday (the 13th).
I just discovered your blog! While I'm a little disappointed that e. lockhart is unimpressed with wemberly worried (which is my cousin's favorite book too), i suppose that's not your fault. i still respect her, and DISREPUTABLE HISTORY is my current book-of-the-month in my YA section, as PAPER TOWNS will be when it hits stores. i loved it. anyway, i'm linking to your blog from mine-- feel free to check it out: www.GGPreviews.blogspot.com.
Do you have AAA? If so, did you know you get a 10% discount at Auntie Annie's if you show your card?
No Auntie Anne's! The horror. I go to the one in my mall so often that they think I work in the mall and give me the mall discount.
God I hope they never ask me what store I work in.
(just realized this post makes me sound like I'm 12, but I'm 33) :)
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