The quest to feature as many MN Book Award nominees before the April 16 ceremony marches on! You can play along at home, and watch as a link to each author’s answers are added to this post
Today we’re pleased to feature Linda Glaser whose book Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty has been nominated for a Minnesota Book Award in Children’s Literature.
If you visit Linda’s website not only can you see all the books she’s written (I think I counted about twenty-five), but you can learn about her struggle to read (which she mentions here) and how that didn’t deter her from becoming a children’s book author. For now, you can read her answers to the six questions we always ask.
What book(s) are you currently reading?
I belong to a few book groups. So I find myself reading an interesting assortment. I'm just finishing Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. It's a citywide read in Duluth and one that my book group chose as well. I just started Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata, another citywide read in Duluth. I'm also reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin with my small informal long distance book club consisting mainly, but not exclusively, of my sister and mother who both live in New York. Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm is one I'm reading with Chapter and Verse book club organized by Children's Literature Network.
Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Who?
Oh yes. I'm completely in love with Mma Ramatswe from the The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. She's such a deep soul! A few years ago, I had the chance to attend a talk by Alexander McCall Smith. He was charming, funny, and interesting but, alas, not Mma Ramastwe. And of course, she was the one I really wanted to meet!
If your favorite author came to Minnesota, who would it be and what bar would you take him/her to?
Oh, I'd be much too shy and tongue-tied to take Maya Angelou or Anne Tyler anywhere. But I'd take Jeanne Miller to Amazing Grace in Duluth anytime. It's not a bar, but a great place to sit and talk for hours. She's a dear friend, former student, and now a successful writer who lives in California. I've been begging her to come visit for years.
What was your first favorite book?
The Cat in the Hat. I read it over and over. Unlike most writers, who devoured countless books when they were kids, I struggled to learn to read. So it was a heady experience to find a book that I could actually master. And master I did! Over and over. At age 8, I daresay I was the world's expert on The Cat in the Hat.
Let’s say Fahrenheit 451 comes to life, which book would you become in order to save it from annihilation?
Well, of course, I couldn't just save one. Charlotte’s Web would be a must and so would The Diary of Anne Frank. But how could I not also save my own Bridge to America? That would be out of the question.
What is one book you haven’t read but want to read before you die?
Oh, there are many. But the one that's been most daunting for the longest time is War and Peace. Maybe this summer! Or next winter?