I went to the Half Price Books flagship store tonight for the Penguin Teen on Tour stop in Dallas with Ally Condie, Jandy Nelson, and Meg Wolitzer. They chatted about their most recent books, the writing process, and books they love to read (and re-read).
Jandy mentioned she spent most of her life writing poetry until she got this advice around age 40:
.@jandynelson says writing fiction clicked for her when advised to get herself on the page, what she loves & hates. #PenguinTeenOnTour
— Sarah Blackstock🙄🤗 (@sarahblackstock) November 4, 2015
Meg has mostly written adult books (which sounds more risqué than intended):
.@MegWolitzer's writing an adult book right now. Jokes that it's called Her Open Thighs b/c "adult" sounds ADULT. 😉 #PenguinTeenOnTour
— Sarah Blackstock🙄🤗 (@sarahblackstock) November 4, 2015
When asked how to make your writing exciting:
.@jandynelson recommends reading Anne Sexton to wake up your language & get back in the writing groove. #PenguinTeenOnTour
— Sarah Blackstock🙄🤗 (@sarahblackstock) November 4, 2015
Meg likes to re-read the parts in a book when you know the author was “doing the Snoopy Dance” to celebrate how great they are:
.@MegWolitzer says re-read a passage in a book that you just know the author LOVED to write to inspire your own writing. #PenguinTeenOnTour
— Sarah Blackstock🙄🤗 (@sarahblackstock) November 4, 2015
The book Ally wishes her teen self could’ve read:
.@allycondie would give The End or Something Like That by @anndeeellis to her teen self. #PenguinTeenOnTour
— Sarah Blackstock🙄🤗 (@sarahblackstock) November 4, 2015
Meg’s re-read/favorite:
.@MegWolitzer says Charlotte’s Web is a book she can re-read & love. It was her first glance at mortality. #PenguinTeenOnTour
— Sarah Blackstock🙄🤗 (@sarahblackstock) November 4, 2015
And the books Jandy would give her teen self:
.@jandynelson would give A Monster Calls by @patrick_ness & Aristotle and Dante by @benjaminaliresa to her teen self. #PenguinTeenOnTour
— Sarah Blackstock🙄🤗 (@sarahblackstock) November 4, 2015
Meg points out why some books stick with us:
.@MegWolitzer says books are often important to us based on when we read them/what our lives are like at the time. (YES!) #PenguinTeenOnTour
— Sarah Blackstock🙄🤗 (@sarahblackstock) November 4, 2015
I totally agree! Some books enter your life at just the right time to make an impact on you that lasts a lifetime. This reminded me of how I read The Catcher in the Rye as an angsty teen and totally related to Holden and loved it. But when my husband read it for the first time as an adult, this was his review halfway through (which I saved for posterity because it made me laugh so much): “This guy’s just hating on everything & keeps calling people phonies.” Ha!