Good to Know
In her interview with Barnes & Noble.com, Creech shared some fun facts about herself:
"One of my most interesting jobs was in graduate school, working with the Federal Theatre Project archives (a Library of Congress collection, then based at George Mason University). I catalogued original illustrations for set and costume designs, some by Orson Welles. It was fascinating work!"
"I once fell 20 feet from a tree, was knocked unconscious, and when I picked myself up and straggled home, my parents thought I was making it up. However, when my brother and I fabricated a story about an encounter with a bear, they believed that! So maybe I learned very early on that fiction was more interesting to listeners!"
"As readers can probably tell from my books, I love the outdoors. I love to hike, kayak, and swim. I also love to read (which is probably not a surprise) and I love the theater and art museums. I especially love all the instruments of art: inks, pens, paintbrushes, watercolors and oils, fine papers and canvases, and although I love to mess around with these tools and objects, I have minimal artistic skills."
Feature Interview
In the summer of 2004, we asked authors featured in Meet the Writers to give us a list of their all-time favorite summer reads, and tell us what makes them just right for the season. Here's what Sharon Creech had to say: For adults:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- This is one of my all-time favorite books, perfect to read at any time of the year. It's short and engaging and will stay with you forever.
The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler -- I love this new book of Tyler's. A good, fat, delicious read, one to be savored outside in the hammock.
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros -- This is another wonderful book to savor when you have the leisure to read a long book. The language is so beautiful!
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt -- This is one of the few books that I'll read again and again each summer, for the rich characters and distinct language.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver -- Summer is the perfect time to lounge through this rich and intricate story which sets you down in another world.
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- Shields is one of my all-time favorite writers, and I love each of her books. This is one of my favorites, a beautiful book to read outside on the dock. For children/YA:
Messenger by Lois Lowry -- This new book of Lowry's, companion to The Giver and to Gathering Blue is another provocative look at an alternate world, short enough to inhale in one or two sittings.
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson. I read this book in one sitting, outside in the hammock. It's a beautifully written story of a teen father.
Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff -- I love Wolff's distinct characters and language. I read it outside, in small chunks, because I did not want it to end.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor -- This is a classic boy and dog story, perfect for summer reading. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the spring of 2003, Sharon Creech answered some of our questions.
What was the book that most influenced your life -- and why?
It is too hard to choose just one book, because so many books have influenced me. I would choose a thousand poems, a dozen plays, and hundreds of novels.
What are your ten favorite books -- and why?
Again, it is extremely hard to narrow the choice to ten, but....
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy -- For the strong characters, beautiful language, and the rich, sweeping tapestry. I read this book very slowly, because I couldn't bear for it to end.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert -- For the rich characterization.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck -- For the sweeping canvas and the alternation of viewpoints.
Marcovaldo by Italo Calvino -- For the simplicity of style and the meticulous portrayal of a simple man.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- For the beauty of the language.
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- For the wide scope and powerful language.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver -- For the rich characters and alternating viewpoints.
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros -- For its beauty of language and richness of scene and details.
The Short Stories of Flannery O'Connor -- For precision of language, for humor, for characterization.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt -- For the distinctive rhythm and style, for the generous spirit. Favorite films?
The Hours Philadelphia Mr. and Mrs. Bridge The African Queen Lonesome Dove Driving Miss Daisy Favorite music?
I'm all over the map, from the Mavericks and Billy Bragg & Wilco to Pavarotti and Bach.
If you had a book club, what would it be reading -- and why?
We¹d be reading a new novel, perhaps Cisneros' Caramelo or Lee Smith's The Last Girls, to savor some current writing, or perhaps a favorite children's novel such as Shiloh or The House on Mango Street or True Believer.
What are your favorite books to give -- and get -- as gifts?
I enjoy receiving and giving realistic fiction, for both children and adults, with strong characters, beautiful language, and humane visions.
What are you working on now?
I'm putting the finishing touches on a novel-in-verse called Heartbeat, which is the story of a young girl on the cusp of young adulthood, and am working on another novel (as yet untitled) about a young boy in a large Italian family.
(Downloadable Spark Note)
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