Kristin Hannah is the author of 18 novels, including Firefly Lane, True Colors
and Winter Garden. A lawyer turned
writer, she is the mother of one son and lives with her husband in the Pacific
Northwest and Hawaii. Hannah's latest novel, Night Road (St. Martin's Press,
March 22, 2011), is a
story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart and the
courage it takes to forgive the people we love.
On your nightstand now:
I'd like to make it sound as if I have a nice, neat, manageable stack of books on my nightstand, but the truth is that I have piles of books along the wall beside my bed. Most of the books are research for the novel I'm currently working on; a few, though, are my treat to myself after a long day at work. The top of the list right now: Swamplandia by Karen Russell, The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman and Unbroken by Laura Hilderbrand.
Favorite book when you were a child:
Hmmm... I'd have to say Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was my favorite novel as a young girl; as a young adult, The Lord of the Rings stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Your top five authors:
I have a very eclectic reading taste--I love thrillers, horror, mystery, literary fiction, historical fiction. Everything. I have a lot of favorite classic and contemporary authors. So I think for the purposes of this question, I'll name the contemporary authors whose body of work rarely fails to entertain, enlighten or move me. These are the authors I buy without even knowing what the book is about: Stephen King, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Pat Conroy, Gabriel Garcia Márquez, J.K. Rowling.
Book you've faked reading:
Madame Bovary. I've never actually faked reading it, but I've tried to read it several times and never finished. I still have it on my "someday" list.
Book you're an evangelist for:
The Harry Potter series (not that J.K. Rowling needs the help), but I am constantly trying to get adults to read the books. When I hear, "I don't read fantasy," or "that's a kids' book," I go crazy. I am absolutely in awe of the feat that J.K. pulled off in those books. The planning, the characterizations, the connections at the end, and then all that emotion. Magic.
Book you've bought for the cover:
I don't think I've ever bought a book for the cover. Certainly it's the cover that draws my attention first with an unknown author, but after that, it's all about the first page and the story synopsis.
Book that changed your life:
That's an easy one: The Lord of the Rings.
Favorite line from a book:
It's a tie. "My wound is geography. It is also my anchorage, my port of call." This is from Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides. The second, not surprisingly, comes from The Lord of the Rings: "Mr. Frodo, I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well." It's a simple line, but the emotion contained within it is powerful enough to bring tears to my eyes every time.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Wow. This is one of the best, most interesting questions I've ever been asked. Of course there are so many classic choices, books that you read before you were really ready to understand the majesty and power of the prose. Of the classics, I would have to say To Kill a Mockingbird. It is probably my favorite novel of all time, and I would love to get to know Scout and Boo all over again. I'd also kill to read Harry Potter's conclusion again. It would be great not to know who lived or died and how it all ended; I'd love to be poised over those pages again for the first time, soaking it all up, hurtling toward the end. Perhaps this time I'd slow down....
Which of your novels would make the best movie:
I sound so wishy-washy, having two answers for everything question. In this case, I'd say it's a dead heat between Winter Garden and Night Road. Winter has all that lovely, terrible World War II Russian history that would look so beautiful on screen. Night Road is such a compelling story, with a timely theme and a really powerful message. I think it would great for teenagers to watch this movie--or read this book--with their parents. So I guess I'd have to say both.
Novel you'd most like to read in its original language:
Anna Karenina. When I was researching and writing Winter Garden, I fell completely in love with the Russian poets and writers. I was stunned to discover how much difference there was in the content based on the various translations.