On your nightstand now:
Let's see, I've got the second volume of Thackeray's letters; Letters Between Six Sisters, the correspondence of the Mitford sisters (what a bunch of nuts); and The Art of the Personal Essay, edited by Philip Lopate. Pretty literary, right? Wrong. They're on my nightstand because I use them for a stretching exercise: Thackeray under my head, the Mitfords under my shoulder blades, and Mr. Lopate as a free weight. The book I'm actually reading is under the bed. It's The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Very funny, very astute, perfect for all of us who would sell parents, spouses, children, souls, to have the books we love prove to be real.
Favorite book when you were a child:
There were never enough good books, so I was a repeat reader. If I loved a book, I read it again and again and again. The clear winner of the Most-Read title was Little Women, with at least a hundred re-readings. Runners-up included The Knight's Castle, The Diamond in the Window, Time at the Top, Harriet the Spy, Dear Enemy and a yellow book whose title I never knew--I could find it in the library and that's all that mattered--about the nine lives of a cat named Ophelia (a complete set of autographed Ivy and Bean books to anyone who can tell me what it was called).
Your top five authors:
In the kids' book world, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Maud Hart Lovelace, J.K. Rowling, the completely underrated (in the U.S.) Hilary McKay and Jeanne Birdsall. I think they would end up throwing plates at each other if they were invited to the same dinner party, but they are all brilliant at kid-brain--entering the minds of children.
Book you've faked reading:
Does it count as faking if you nod knowingly during discussions but never really come right out and say you've read the book at hand? If that counts, I've faked reading all of German literature, most of French literature, the Greek historians, the Latin poets and the Bible. Oh yeah, and Wallace Stevens, too.
Book you are an evangelist for:
I keep trying to shove A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz into the hands of every kid I know. What a great idea! What a great book! I wish I'd written it.
Book you've bought for the cover:
Children's publishing is in the middle of a golden age of covers, and who am I to resist their allure? Two of my more recent purchases are A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee and Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. I bet that's the first time those two books have ever been mentioned in the same sentence.
Book that changed your life:
This would be the most embarrassing question in the world if I answered it truthfully. However, I've made a vow never to mention these books (it was a series) in public for fear that they will be rediscovered, brought back into print, and ruin another adolescent girl's life. I can't be responsible for that.
Favorite line from a book:
"Why do you say that?" asked the Professor.
"Well, for one thing," said Peter, "if it was real why doesn't everyone find this country every time they go to the wardrobe? I mean, there was nothing there when we looked; even Lucy didn't pretend there was."
"What has that to do with it?" said the Professor
"Well, Sir, if things are real, they're there all the time."
"Are they?" said the Professor; and Peter did not know quite what to say.
--from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Time at the Top, but only if I can be nine again when I read it.