Last week’s post featuring author videos received a nice response, so I thought I’d do a second column spotlighting some other authors. As before, I made sure all the clips were short — and again started with living writers and concluded with deceased ones.
Fannie Flagg, whose warmly compelling novels include Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, discusses topics such as how she got her pen name:
Rita Mae Brown, who first rose to literary fame with her great lesbian-themed classic Rubyfruit Jungle, talks about her mystery series co-starring human and animal detectives:
Terry McMillan focuses on how she writes her novels (Waiting to Exhale, etc.) and the unhealthiness of staying angry:
Khaled Hosseini, author of books such as The Kite Runner, recalls his transition from physician to novelist and discusses how refugees make the U.S. a better place. Hosseini himself was a refugee, from Afghanistan:
Kazuo Ishiguro, the Nobel Prize-winning writer of novels such as The Remains of the Day, talks about how restrictive it is for authors to be pigeon-holed by genre:
Walter Mosley — author of the Easy Rawlins mysteries and more — discusses reading as a kid, classic writers, and the often solitary/unglamorous life of authors:
Moving on to authors who are no longer with us…
Brief footage of Harper Lee, before she became very reclusive, at the 1962 premiere of the great movie based on her even greater novel To Kill a Mockingbird:
Iconic science-fiction writer Octavia E. Butler (Kindred, The Parable of the Sower, etc.) discusses how watching a bad movie inspired her to start writing, how the future is not always easily predictable, and more:
W. Somerset Maugham, who penned Of Human Bondage and other classics, answers several questions during a 1950 shipboard interview — including one about the impossibility of writing “the perfect novel”:
Ray Bradbury is quite engaging as he references The Martian Chronicles and more. He even reads a poem! (Thanks to Brian Bess for alerting me to this clip.)
Sue Grafton, author of the “Alphabet Mysteries” series, hilariously riffs about murderous thoughts:
Nigerian-born author Buchi Emecheta discusses living in England, her novel Second Class Citizen, and juggling parenthood and writing. (She’s in the screen shot atop this blog post, on the left.)
H.G. Wells — one of the most famous sci-fi authors to put words to paper (The Time Machine, etc.), discusses economics in his distinctive high-pitched voice:
Brief footage of Doctor Zhivago author Boris Pasternak:
Any author videos you’d like to mention?
My literary-trivia book is described and can be purchased here: Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time.
In addition to this weekly blog, I write the award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column for Baristanet.com. The latest piece — a comedic look at what families might do during a pandemic summer with many pools and camps closed — is here.
Introduced to Buchi Emecheta’s work by my mother, as a teenager, I would have loved to meet her.
Videos not quite replacing everything we’re not allowed to do. maybe never again, but so much closer than press reviews.
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Thank you, catonthedovrefell! Yes, author videos hardly replace not being able to go out as much, not seeing writers in person, etc. But the clips can be fun and interesting to watch. 🙂
As for Buchi Emecheta, I’ve only read her “Second Class Citizen,” but found it really compelling. Great that your mother introduced you to her work!
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My husband and I watched all of these last night. We got a big kick out of how Khaled Hosseini made the decision to stop practicing medicine and devote himself to writing full-time.
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Thank you, Liz! Great that you and your husband watched the videos! Yes, Khaled Hosseini’s description of stopping medicine to focus on writing was a memorable one.
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Another great round up of clips! For Harper Lee and the many authors like her, it got me thinking how crazy it must be to go to movie premiere of your own book. Love H.G. Wells too. As for the rest, I haven’t read them so looks like I have some reading homework! 🙂
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Thank you, M.B.! Going to a movie premiere of one’s own book must indeed be incredible, especially when the film does the book justice and has a star like Gregory Peck. 🙂
H.G. Wells’ science-fiction novels are so great (I’ve read five of them), and the end of “The Time Machine” is heartbreakingly haunting.
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The Time Machine is my favorite of his that I’ve read. And yes – the ending is incredible! Sometimes I wish I had more reading time, so I could go back and re-read some stuff. Even in quarantine I still find I have too many books and not enough time!
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I hear you, M.B. I also hesitate to reread because there are so many books to get to for the first time!
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Thank you, Dave! This looks fascinating. When I get home from work tonight, I will watch each of these in their entirety. Something to look forward to! I did watch a snippet of Fannie Flagg’s interview. She has been a delightful part of my consciousness since I was a pre-teen and she was the morning weather girl in Birmingham — I think it was The Morning Show on WBRC. She was so funny and wacky long before it was a thing to inject humor into weather reports.
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Thank you, Pat! I hope you enjoy the videos! (I think you will. 🙂 )
Great that you were able to watch Fannie Flagg earlier in her career! Sounds like she was a real pioneer in her partly humorous weather-reporting approach.
As you know, she’s also quite funny in her wonderful novels, while also being quite serious at the same time. Not an easy combination to pull off, but she never fails. (I’ve read all but one of her novels.)
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I didn’t know Fannie Flagg was a weather girl!
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I hadn’t known that, either, Liz!
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Thanks for the video of Pasternak!
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You’re welcome, Elena! It does seem VERY rare.
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Dave – you have the best way of bringing books to life for me. I have just added a couple more to my reading list. I especially appreciated Kazuo Ishiguro’s thoughts on the idea of genre. When we start to classify, it is the “thin edge of the wedge” for writers and readers. Why is it that we always like to makes categories, to keep thoughts restricted? I think it is the messiness of life that leads to the greatest narratives, both in book form and in real life. After all, we are all books in the making and we don’t like to be classified or stereotyped. Anyway, I digress, as I often do when I come to your posts. Have a great week.
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Thank you, Clanmother! Terrific, wise comment.
Yes, Kazuo Ishiguro’s thoughts were so interesting on what seemed to be his Nobel Prize-winning night. Being categorized IS annoying for many authors; I guess it’s often forced on them by publishing companies, marketing types, and/or at times necessity/desperation. Many of the best books are indeed complicated and hard to categorize, like life — as you noted.
Have a great week, too!
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I also appreciated Ishiguro’s comments on genre. From what I’ve read, strict classification of genre is being driven in part by the publishing industry’s strategy to market books in a very crowded marketplace. I remember being in the sixth grade and coming to the realization that the Nurse Cherry Ames books were written to a formula. I was so disappointed and very put out.
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True, Liz, that a lot of book categorization is market-driven. And, yes, some books — of course including some aimed at younger readers, as you mentioned — are written formulaically, in part to adhere to that. What’s also frustrating is when some NON-formulaic books still get shoved into categories.
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Yes, I could see that.
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Oh no!!! I remember those books and I can just imagine you being disappointed and put out as a young child. I have plans to look at the Nancy Drew mysteries this year. I loved them and I’m certain that they were written to formula.
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Clanmother, I’m sure you’re right about the formulaic nature of a number of series for young readers such as the Nancy Drew series. (I haven’t read any Nancy Drew books, but have read some others of that genre.) Of course, as you allude to, formulaic books can still be great when written skillfully enough. 🙂
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I am particularly interested in Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905 – May 28, 2002). She wrote some of the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries and created the detective’s adventurous personality. But she wrote so many more series. Who was she? And how did she inspire women, via Nancy Drew, to be independent. There are so many stories hidden in the folds of history.
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She sounds interesting and amazing, Clanmother — and what a long life! Even though her name is not well known now, she had an extraordinary influence on several generations of readers. That’s a big thing.
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I’ll be interested in hearing what you think about how Nancy gets out of her various scrapes.
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My wife still rereads Nancy Drew books from time to time. I really should try one…
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Hmm, how about a Tea, Toast, and Trivia with you and Rebecca having a discussion about Nancy Drew?
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Now that’s a thought! 🙂
When it comes to YA fiction, I’m a big fan of “Anne of Green Gables” and its sequels. I think Anne Shirley and Nancy Drew would like each other…
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🙂
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Stay tuned . I always wanted to be a sleuth!!!
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It should be fun, something to look forward to!
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Another wonderful collection of authors’ clip, Dave! I’m almost done with the first set, but I definitely know where I’ll begin the sequel…Hosseini, Ishiguro, and Harper Lee.
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Thank you, Mary Jo! The Hosseini and Ishiguro videos are great — both writers are quite eloquent. Harper Lee doesn’t speak in the “To Kill a Mockingbird” clip, but it’s interesting to briefly see very rare footage of her.
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Oh, yes! The rare footage of these authors is amazing! I just now finished your first collection of clips. Such a diverse group of authors and techniques…so fascinating. I see the possibilities of grouping authors’s clips by theme too!
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Glad you enjoyed the first collection of videos, Mary Jo!
Thematic groupings would’ve been a good idea; I assembled things rather randomly. 🙂
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