We have had the pleasure of hosting some phenomenal people: Cornel West brings down the house every time he speaks here. Colum McCann convinced his audience to read Joyce’s Ulysses. Nicholson Baker is one of my all-time favorite philosopher/novelists. And Margaret Atwood is amazing; she’s erudite and sarcastic and hilarious all at once.
My favorite recent interaction happened at a program with the wonderful Karen Russell. She was reading from Vampires in the Lemon Grove, and a young girl, maybe about thirteen, attended the program with her dad. She got up during the Q&A to ask Karen about vampires—how Karen decided what magical properties the vampires should have, and how those compared to other vampires in literature.
There are so many amazing Seattle writers, writing really different kinds of books. There are tons of great science writers living here: David Montgomery, David B. Williams, Lyanda Lynn Haupt.
Lyanda’s books (like Crow Planet and The Urban Bestiary) shed light on Seattle’s relationship with the wild. That said, the book that I can’t stop raving about right now is Nicola Griffith’s Hild. It’s the story of the girl who will become Saint Hilda of Whitby, set against the power struggles and seismic shifts in religious belief of seventh-century Northumbria. It’s a remarkable book—both accessible and erudite, beautifully crafted and well paced. You’ve got to read it!
I am an evangelist for Matthew Simmons. Matthew is a friend who happens to be a prodigiously talented writer. He is interested in pushing the form, and his writing also has a certain vulnerability. I think he’s amazing and can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next!
I would say Sherman Alexie. He’s hilarious, and you never know what he’ll say next. If we’re talking about Washington writers, I have a fondness for Tom Robbins, as he so deftly conveys the pathos and humor of his books to his audiences. If we’re talking about authors from across the United States, I was absolutely captivated by Cynthia Ozick’s reading back in 2005, and I still hold that as the standard for reading fiction aloud. And if we’re talking international authors, I absolutely adore Eoin Colfer. He puts every bit of himself into his performances.
I think a classic locked-room mystery set in and around the water tower in Volunteer Park is a given.
Maybe a postapocalyptic sci-fi novel could be set on the beaches at Lincoln Park, and on the Vashon ferry, which is set adrift between the island and mainland.
I find myself shopping in the Elliott Bay Book Company the most often these days. I bought David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks and Rebecca Hoogs’s poetry collection Self-Storage there just last week. But I like to spread the love, and I’ve shopped at University Book Store and Phinney Books in the last month or so too!
Writing? Is that a trick question? ;)