An in-depth, no spoilers chat about this buzzy spring book, Virginia's writing and reading life, her must read list of Irish literature, and her all time favorite books
Renee, this was WONDERFUL! I loved every bit of this conversation- every topic you covered! And I’ll be in your letter writing club. 😉 I’m trying to write more. I am slow reading The Book of Alchemy and using the prompts. I also started writing down prayers or things I notice that are really on my mind and it’s so interesting to go back and read my entries. This was so inspiring!
Thank you! I really loved our conversation so I'm thrilled to hear that you did too. She was so fun to talk to and I loved hearing about her process and all those book recs. I'm still slow reading that book too and I journal daily, every morning while I have my coffee. It's like a check in with myself every day and I look forward to it. I love that you've found a writing routine that you're enjoying
Fabulous interview! I really appreciated Virginia‘s thought process for selecting the epistolary format for the book. I know there are people who have an issue with reading that type of format but I found that there are just some stories that cannot be told in any other format. Writing a regular novel would definitely detect from the purpose of the story. Besides learning about Virginia’s life through these letters, I truly was engrossed with the relationships that she had in her life. There was such a variety of friendships and I just found that to be more interesting than her life story. I also loved hearing about her reading life and the books that she enjoyed. I felt like I had met another book twin. again, great interview and so glad that you picked Virginia for an author interview.
This interview was such a joy—truly one of my favorite pieces of content yet. Looking forward to reading The Correspondent this summer.
I absolutely love your idea for a letter-writing club! It's such a meaningful and timeless way to connect. My parents and I still exchange letters every week, and I treasure each and every note.
Our 16-year-old son also shares a deep love for letter writing. He’s remained close friends with his “pals”—a group of WWII veterans he began writing to back in first grade. When some of the veterans have sadly passed on, he continues to write to their widows.
These relationships have become such a cherished part of his life and ours. 🤍
Thank you so much! I enjoyed every minute of my conversation with Virginia and I hope you end up enjoying her book. I appreciate the feedback on the letter writing club, I'm seriously considering it! I think it would be fun and I've ordered all these literary notecards and postcards and would love to send them out:) That is so special that your son has the ongoing correspondence with the veterans and their widows. Having actual written letters or cards etc from people are such special keepsakes. My grandma was a note writer and she passed in 2018 and to have writings from her that I can take out and read now is something I cherish.
Loved the conversation! Fun hearing that she’s been corresponding with Ann Patchett for years. Makes me want to send letters to authors when I enjoy their books.
Yep, and love her taste in books in general. I'm looking forward to this one now, my library hold is crawling but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. Great interview.
THE CORRESPONDENT. It must be on every book club agenda here because I put a hold on if the minute I heard about it a few months ago and the list was staggering. Never mind. I have plenty to keep me busy in the meantime.
I read Birnam Wood a good while ago. I think it was divisive. So many people DNFed it because they thought it was so slow. It just takes it's time. It's very long, so you just need patience. I actually switched to audio because the book was hefty and I had a sprained wrist at the time. I am glad I was grounded in the characters before I switched.
I'm going to second reading the earlier Maggie O'Farrells. All 3 she mentions are superb. My next gallery is that one by Wendy Erskine, THE BENEFACTORS. It's starting to get buzzy locally, I'll let you know next week.
I loved how Virginia was so committed to the characters she created. She was dedicated toward making sure they were believable. For me, as a reader of this type of book, that is an important element. I loved this story and was glad to hear Virgina’s thoughts about her writing and her background.
Thank you for such an amazing interview! I kept thinking while reading it how clever the writing was, not just hearing a story in letters back and forth between two people, but how you hear her life and follow up’s to the other characters in letters to completely different people. The discussion about the story being pieces of a puzzle being fit together , and about Maggie O’Ferrell, made me think about O’Ferrell’s book
I AM I AM I AM: SEVENTEEN BRUSHES WiTH DEATH. It was in my top ten the year I read it. It was so cleverly written!!! You hear about these brushes with death, but it is really a memoir that talks about her life during different times and you piece it together with these incidents that happen. The incidents were big and small, some just a moment, like if she had stepped left while walking she would have been hit by a truck. But the walk , and the reason for the walk , was what was important and propelled her story forward. I think about the book all the time. It made me think about the moments in my life where I have had brushes with death, big or small, and what was my story at that time. I think you may enjoy it :)
Renee, this was WONDERFUL! I loved every bit of this conversation- every topic you covered! And I’ll be in your letter writing club. 😉 I’m trying to write more. I am slow reading The Book of Alchemy and using the prompts. I also started writing down prayers or things I notice that are really on my mind and it’s so interesting to go back and read my entries. This was so inspiring!
Thank you! I really loved our conversation so I'm thrilled to hear that you did too. She was so fun to talk to and I loved hearing about her process and all those book recs. I'm still slow reading that book too and I journal daily, every morning while I have my coffee. It's like a check in with myself every day and I look forward to it. I love that you've found a writing routine that you're enjoying
Fabulous interview! I really appreciated Virginia‘s thought process for selecting the epistolary format for the book. I know there are people who have an issue with reading that type of format but I found that there are just some stories that cannot be told in any other format. Writing a regular novel would definitely detect from the purpose of the story. Besides learning about Virginia’s life through these letters, I truly was engrossed with the relationships that she had in her life. There was such a variety of friendships and I just found that to be more interesting than her life story. I also loved hearing about her reading life and the books that she enjoyed. I felt like I had met another book twin. again, great interview and so glad that you picked Virginia for an author interview.
Thanks Kathy, I'm glad you enjoyed it
This interview was such a joy—truly one of my favorite pieces of content yet. Looking forward to reading The Correspondent this summer.
I absolutely love your idea for a letter-writing club! It's such a meaningful and timeless way to connect. My parents and I still exchange letters every week, and I treasure each and every note.
Our 16-year-old son also shares a deep love for letter writing. He’s remained close friends with his “pals”—a group of WWII veterans he began writing to back in first grade. When some of the veterans have sadly passed on, he continues to write to their widows.
These relationships have become such a cherished part of his life and ours. 🤍
Thank you so much! I enjoyed every minute of my conversation with Virginia and I hope you end up enjoying her book. I appreciate the feedback on the letter writing club, I'm seriously considering it! I think it would be fun and I've ordered all these literary notecards and postcards and would love to send them out:) That is so special that your son has the ongoing correspondence with the veterans and their widows. Having actual written letters or cards etc from people are such special keepsakes. My grandma was a note writer and she passed in 2018 and to have writings from her that I can take out and read now is something I cherish.
Loved the conversation! Fun hearing that she’s been corresponding with Ann Patchett for years. Makes me want to send letters to authors when I enjoy their books.
That was a wonderful interview, Renee! I really loved The Correspondent and it was so interesting to hear what sparked the idea for this story.
Thank you Kathleen!
Yeay for Irish literature!!
I had a feeling you’d like hearing about those books:)
Yep, and love her taste in books in general. I'm looking forward to this one now, my library hold is crawling but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. Great interview.
Thanks Rita:) Which one are you looking forward to? Have you read Birnam Wood? Her excitement for that has me considering it
THE CORRESPONDENT. It must be on every book club agenda here because I put a hold on if the minute I heard about it a few months ago and the list was staggering. Never mind. I have plenty to keep me busy in the meantime.
I read Birnam Wood a good while ago. I think it was divisive. So many people DNFed it because they thought it was so slow. It just takes it's time. It's very long, so you just need patience. I actually switched to audio because the book was hefty and I had a sprained wrist at the time. I am glad I was grounded in the characters before I switched.
I'm going to second reading the earlier Maggie O'Farrells. All 3 she mentions are superb. My next gallery is that one by Wendy Erskine, THE BENEFACTORS. It's starting to get buzzy locally, I'll let you know next week.
Yes please let me know, I didn’t find a US pub date for that one but I can get it on Blackwell’s
I loved how Virginia was so committed to the characters she created. She was dedicated toward making sure they were believable. For me, as a reader of this type of book, that is an important element. I loved this story and was glad to hear Virgina’s thoughts about her writing and her background.
I really loved getting all the behind the scenes details of her creation process. A peak behind her author's curtain:)
Thank you for such an amazing interview! I kept thinking while reading it how clever the writing was, not just hearing a story in letters back and forth between two people, but how you hear her life and follow up’s to the other characters in letters to completely different people. The discussion about the story being pieces of a puzzle being fit together , and about Maggie O’Ferrell, made me think about O’Ferrell’s book
I AM I AM I AM: SEVENTEEN BRUSHES WiTH DEATH. It was in my top ten the year I read it. It was so cleverly written!!! You hear about these brushes with death, but it is really a memoir that talks about her life during different times and you piece it together with these incidents that happen. The incidents were big and small, some just a moment, like if she had stepped left while walking she would have been hit by a truck. But the walk , and the reason for the walk , was what was important and propelled her story forward. I think about the book all the time. It made me think about the moments in my life where I have had brushes with death, big or small, and what was my story at that time. I think you may enjoy it :)