BEDA Day 3: Your Questions Answered
Greetings from beautiful (really!) Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Time to answer your questions:
Q. What do you think of the newest installment of This Is Not Tom?
A. The story interests me more and more with each new chapter--and I am particularly impressed with the interplay between the riddles and the story. (For those of you who don't know, This Is Not Tom is a mysterious series of stunningly complex riddles that hide what appears to be some kind of weirdly interactive novel. The riddles are too hard for me, but fortunately someone has set up forums full of spoilers so that anyone can follow the story. If it's a story. It could be nonfictional, although I really doubt it.)
Q. Do you see yourself writing a book with a female protagonist at some point?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you think the author or the reader determines the meaning of the text?
A. The author determines the text; the reader determines its meaning.
Q. Do you think it's important for people to read classics like Austen and Salinger when there are so great modern books out there?
A. Yes, I think it's important to read Austen and Salinger and Shakespeare and Milton and Chaucer and W. E. B. DuBois and Twain and the Brontes and etc. This does not in any way minimize the importance of also reading great modern books. I think they should be read alongside each other.
Q. Will you, in the foreseeable future, write a book that includes (but is not necessarily about, per se) a non-heterosexual character and/or relationship?
A. Yes.
Q. If you prick Maureen does she not bleed?
A. In fact, she does not. She might leak a bit of motor oil, but that's all.
Q. What do you think about the importance of the intent of the author vs. the interpretation of the reader?
A. As noted above, authorial intent is almost (almost!) entirely irrelevant. Whether apples intend to be delicious does not affect whether or not they are delicious.
Q. What are you're top five favorite YA books excluding the ones you've written?
A. I don't have to exclude the ones I've written, because they wouldn't make the list. (They wouldn't make the list of the Top 100, in fact.) 1. The Catcher in the Rye; 2. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing; 3. The Book Thief; 4. Speak; 5. The Virgin Suicides.
Q. What is the meaning behind the smokers in Looking for Alaska?
A. Smoking is a symbol for the self-destructive urge in Alaska--Alaska says early in the novel, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." But in fact she's obviously wrong--they all smoke to die. (Everyone who chooses to smoke in the era of lung-cancer-awareness smokes to die.) Why we want to destroy ourselves is at the center of the book, and it seemed to me that smoking was a good example of it.
Q. In your opinion, the best band ever is...?
A. It's no secret that my favorite band is The Mountain Goats. My second favorite band is also The Mountain Goats. My third favorite band, which until recently was The Mountain Goats, is now Hank Green.
Q. What happens if I click on this link?
A. Oh, nothing. No big whup. I mean, click on it if you want.
Q. Did you just Hankroll me?
A. Maybe.
posted by John Green @ Friday, April 03, 2009
46 Comments
46 Comments:
I didn't know you liked The Virgin Suicides so much. Can you talk more about why it made your Top 5 list?
I really like that apple comparison. And the Mountain Goats. And thisisnottom. And being Hank Roll'd.
I bought the second volume of Octavian a few months ago, totally forgot about it! *rushes off to read*
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Does anybody else think that if Hank starts a band, that band should definitely be called He Might Be Hank?
I love being Hankroll'd.
Have you ever tried writing poetry?
no no no, it should totally be Schrodinger and the Maybe-Dead Cats! :D
Where do I find a good list of great modern books I should read? I mean, I've worked my way through the list of classics that my high school teachers and college profs supplied, but without some guidance about books from the last couple decades I might just go out and recklessly read anything with a seductive or brightly colored cover, which I'd imagine would lead to advanced brain rot - unless there's really a direct correlation between the greatness of the book and the appeal of the cover, but then that would contradict a sacred English idiom...
I've not read a single one of your favorite YA books. Although I've got Speak and Octavian Nothing in my bookshelf. I suppose I should pull them out!
Can you tell us a little about your upcoming novel co-written with David Levithan? Also - what are your plans for after that book?
Why haven't you said anything about the event in Mississippi? (Or if you have, when did you and how did I miss it?)
When you do Events (like the one you just did in MS) which type of audience do you prefer, the Nerdfighter fangirly type, or the calm and collected scholarly type?
I'm sure your publisher loves the video-blog NOW (what with your audience helping you reach the NYT bestselling list and whatnot), what was their initial reaction when they discovered you were doing the project with your brother?
If you were a crayon, what color would you be most likely to hook up with? (if you were, in fact, the hooking up type?)
Question: do you ever make up questions with the intent of making your weblog / vlog more interesting?
I do have to say I disagree with your evaluation of the author being (almost!) irrelevant. Over the course of this year in school, I've learned that absolutely nothing an author does is unintentional. Not even diction and context are consequential. Yes, the intentions are up to interpretation, but I think that first you have to discover what the author is trying to say, and your interpretation is how you apply it to your own life.
Well, in true literature, anyway, and not mind fluff.
Did you hear about the April Fool's joke BlogTV played on Maureen Johnson during her last live show?
Link
I saw the link and was curious... as I clicked, I noticed the next question and went "crap." Still funny, still creepy...
Question:
How much of a balance, as a writer, do you need to put between self-promotion and humility?
"fortunately someone has set up forums full of spoilers" :D
someone = the awesome Hank Green
Oddly, like Valerie, I forgot I haven't read my Octavian Nothing 2 yet. And the new Hankroll'd is the best. Hank works that tutu.
Question: I'm currently working on query letters. Tips?
@whitefluffyhat NO IT SHOULD BE CALLED WHO THE EFF IS HANK.
questions:
1)How long do you see yourself doing vlogbrothers?
2)How soon can we expect a new book by John Green?
3) Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert?
you were talking in a live show recently about shawn's work in bangladesh, and i believe you said that the nerdfighter community gets to decide which kind of project is going to be funded with the donations, whether it's a school or a sand water filter or whatnot.
my question is that, even though the nerdfighting community is doing the donating, wouldn't it make the most sense to ask the people of bangladesh what they need most? i mean, we could try to make the best decision of what we think that they think that they need, but none of us really know because very few (i seriously doubt any) of us have lived the way they are living.
also, and completely unrelatedly, did you enjoy the photo john darnielle holding a wombat?
I really need to read Octavian Nothing. I'll go pick that up tomorrow.
Q- How/did did you celebrate the Iowa court decision?
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could you please explain, in as much detail as possible, your exact feelings about chuck palaniuk?
i happen to be fond of the things he does (at least what i've read so far), but it doesn't bother me that you are apparently not. it just bothers me that you won't tell us what it is about him you don't like. it's an "unsatisfying little decision," and i wanna know what's behind it, 'cause you're john green, and i know you don't just dislike things for no reason if you can help it.
I just got HANKROLL'D (again).
Epic.
I agree that Who The Eff Is Hank would be a pretty dang appropriate band name for Hank.
(Valerie's suggestion is hilarious, but it's not Hank-specific)
I've read all of the books on your top five list except for The Virgin Suicides. (:
hahah am I actually stupid enough to have clicked that link?
yes.
uuuhh -shakes head-
question:
do you think that if they do make Paper Towns the movie, you will tell us your honest opinion on it?
Do you like your screenplay?
I like amazingly_grace's question of what is your favorite word. Mine is lozenge. My word for the day, though, is disambiguation.
I love being Hankroll'd. It is my favorite.
While I am excited by the idea of you writing a book with a female protagonist, I have to say that I love your male protagonists. While I have liked male characters in the past, I have never identified with a male character the way I identified with Colin when I first read Katherines. That is talent.
Do you think that it's important for a reader to get the metaphorical meaning of a book? I understand that for most books that it's really important, like The Old Man and the Sea or The Catcher in the Rye because if you don't understand or find meaning in them it's harder to enjoy/understand the book. But what about other books?
Also, do you think a metaphor is more effective blatantly stated or hidden within the text? I personally think that either way enhances a book, but I find that people who don't like to read and are forced to for English class miss the metaphors completely if they aren't in one sentence and very obvious. So by making them obvious, does that increase the audience for the book?
Do you write your books in sequential order, from the first page to the last page, or do you write parts willy-nilly?
You probably answered this a million years ago, back when Question Tuesday was actually on Tuesdays, but I was wondering what drew you to write YA fiction as opposed to identifying yourself as a fiction writer?
why do you like answering real questions from real nerdfighters so much?
If you can't sleep in the middle of the night, what do you do? Do you stay in bed and moan or do you get up and putter around the house? If you putter, what activities do you engage in?
Nobody smokes to die. People smoke because of the immediate effect smoking has on their bodies. Death is a long term effect. Long term goals or effects are not nearly as strongly motivating as immediate goals or effects. If there is a clash, people do what is strongest, i.e. most immediate. Knowledge alone has no effect on motivation. Telling someone smoking will kill them will not stop them. It requires additional input such as beginning a hacking cough, or seeing lung damage on an x-ray. Even those will not stop everybody. This is modern psychology.
Why have all your main protagonists been only children? Are you going to write a novel with a sibling relationship? (The only one so far has been Margo, and she ran away)
Did you intentionally choose white tulips in Looking For Alaska because they mean forgiveness? I always wonder that.
Are you still coming to Australia? =]
I've only read two out of the five books you listed! Bad!! I'll have to put them on my list of books to read! (Although, it is literally a list so large I could probably build a house out of them all. Which wouldn't be all that bad... Hard to maintain in wet weather though, I'm sure.)
What was the best experience you took away from college?
Yay for John blogging everyday this month!
I wish the second installment of Octavian Nothing isn't so expensive! My library has yet to carry it.
Question: How did you meet the Yeti? anything interesting happened? Quirks that defines the meeting moment? :D
@calculatedplans
I would like to point out that 2 out of 3 of John's books have brightly colored covers and are excellent. While, Twilight has a relatively dark cover and is terrible.
I really think that covers are just reflections of the pages inside so you'll have to pick and read. Otherwise, you'll never know what is good. Although, places like goodreads.com and librarything.com have some insight.
John, have you ever had a penpal? Want one?
Also, when is the next Great American Toure de Nerdfighter?
Can you talk about your story from 21 Proms?
I have a friend who is a great writer and wants to be an author, but she says she doesn't want to major in creative writing in college because "so many great writers end up getting ruined by a bad professor." I think she's dead wrong. What do you think?
I've been debating this with her for a long time; getting a real author's opinion would definitely help. :)
Question: What happens when two dumpees get together?
Thank you for answering my question!
Speak is one of my favorite books, too, and my English class just read the book.
It's a very good book, but I don't think any of my fellow classmates loved that our teacher gave us a hundred and forty-one questions on the book, all answers to be typed up (Not that I'm complaining! I think the questions were good ones. :) ).
I think my teacher sincerely wanted us to learn and the questions that were given to us definitely made me think more complexly, but I was wondering if you thought there was a point where one should stop when analyzing a book?
Okay, I am quite determined to have you answer one of my questions, thus I will pose one everyday of BEDA. You will have to answer one eventually :)
Today's question: What is your favorite quote from Paper Towns? I'll tell you mine. "...Becca maintains her lovely figure by eating nothing but the souls of kittens and the dreams of impoverished children." I also like the monologue by Margo about living in a paper town.
Why are all of your main characters only-children?
Could you see any of your books as a play? Would you write it? Would you write a play (or a screenplay, for that matter) that didn't have anything to do with your books?
Any advice for those who want to start a vlog?
What happened to your nerdtastic glasses?
You've talked about how you enjoy writing YA and coming of age stories. However, do you think there comes a point when the reader is too old to be reading YA novels as they're no longer "meant" for them? As I'm sure you get told often, I'm (insert age older than 18) and I love your books!
I really hope you're cheering for the correct team! Go Green!!!
IF MSU LOSES ON MONDAY, I WILL DONATE 75 DOLLARS TO DECREASE WORLD SUCK (hopefully it will go to a Tar Heels fan.)
And those SPARTANS play good ball;
Spartan teams are never beaten,
All through the game they'll fight;
Fight for the only colors:
Green and White.
Go right through for MSU,
Watch the points keep growing,
Spartan teams are bound to win,
They're fighting with a vim!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
See their team is weakening,
We're going to win this game,
Fight! Fight! Rah! Team, Fight!
Victory for MSU!
"Oh, nothing. No big whup. I mean, click on it if you want."
Really?!?!? Is seeing your brother in a skirt that normal for you?
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