Literary Scene: 4 Bookish Questions for 2 Book-Loving Couples

By Ryan G. Van Cleave

McManus Woodend
GEICO Caveman actor

What are you reading now?
What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff. My wife and I read it to our baby son so he knows what he has to work on every month. We expect results!

What’s the best book + movie combo, where both were great?
1984—the novel by George Orwell, and the film by Michael Radford. Both amazing works. So glad the film is finally getting its due. It takes the seal of approval from Criterion sometimes. 

So, you’re inviting four characters from books (real or imagined, living or dead) out for ice cream at Big Olaf’s. Who’s joining you for mint chocolate chip?
Henry Miller because I couldn’t think of a better place to hang out and talk with him, Paddington Bear because he’d keep Miller in check (it’s a family restaurant, after all) and would make us laugh, Big Brother to watch our food when we use the restroom, and Gandalf because he’ll conjure up more ice cream if we need it. 

Gandalf may get us kicked out for smoking, though. 

Jane Austen—yay or nay? 
Yay, but in the sense that I haven’t met her yet and heard nothing but great things about her from my friends.

Kelli Woodend
Former assistant to Miss Piggy at Puppet Heap

What are you reading now?
Sing to It: New Stories by Amy Hempel. I also recently borrowed Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch from my husband. It’s short and sweet, but I keep thinking about it. 

What book are you recommending most often these days?
My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgård (all six volumes) and anything by Lydia Davis. I also suggest Annie Baker’s plays; they’re not for everyone, but I’m a big fan of her work. 

Who are your three favorite Muppets, and what books do you imagine are THEIR favorites?
Miss Piggy—Some might think she’s simply into chick lit or a breezy beach read, but I see her reading The Portable Dorothy Parker. Both ladies are complex, layered, gutsy, feminine, and never afraid to speak their mind. 

Statler and Waldorf—They would really identify with one of my personal favorite characters, Ignatius J. Reilly, in A Confederacy of Dunces. 

Kermit—Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West. Poor Kermit always seems to be burdened by the problems of others, and I imagine he’s no stranger to the existential struggle…when he’s not tap dancing, of course. 

Hardcovers or softcovers?
Softcovers. I love when a book is soft, worn, stained, bent-up, and loved. I’m not precious with them. I’ll even rip out a page or two and send a highlighted paragraph to a friend or tape a page to my wall. 

Sarah McGuire Koehler
YA novelist

What are you reading now?
Just finished Tweet Cute by Emma Lord—such a bright, witty YA! I’m starting The Explorers: The Door in the Alley, which has an amazing first paragraph. I’m also rereading Mary Stewart’s This Rough Magic, because her prose is marvelous, and because her books take me to exotic locales—in this case, Corfu.

What’s the last great book you read?This is so hard. Ms. Bixby’s Last Day was an amazing mix of booger jokes and dealing with real, wrenching loss. I also read part of a book going out on submission, written by a guy I’d hate if he weren’t so darn hot. (Fred Koehler? I’d love his number if you have it….)

The fairy tale character who deserves better but never gets a fair shake in the stories?
Pretty much every girl who doesn’t get an actual name. Seriously. But let’s go with Elise in Andersen’s “Wild Swans,” who must save her older brothers while observing a vow of silence. Then a king insists on marrying her, has two babies with her…and deserts her when she’s accused of witchcraft and can’t explain herself. What a winner.

She deserved SO much better. Which is why I wrote The Flight of Swans and fixed that.

E-readers or old school paper?
E-readers when I’m traveling because I rarely check bags and need to fit everything in a carry-on. Old school if it’s a book I love and want to reread.

Fred Koehler
Artist, Author, Activist

What are you reading now?
The Truth by Terry Pratchett. Fellow author and super-cute redhead Sarah McGuire turned me onto the Discworld books. They’re all great, and we waffle back and forth on which one is the best.

What’s the next book on your must-read list?
There’s a guy named Michael Regina in Jacksonville, FL, who signed a deal for a graphic novel series with Penguin Random House. The first one, I believe, is called The Sleepover. Mike’s been busting his hump for many years and I’m thrilled to see his success.

Which character from all of literature most seems like your doppelganger?
It’s a toss-up between Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Like me, they’re both conniving anti-authority opportunists who possess a tiny sliver of heart. Huck is the better fisherman, so I think he wins.

#1 literary vice?
I’m super bad about INFODUMPING. It all started when I was a young writer in my hometown of blah blah blah… Just kidding. I always try to explain the whole backstory and all the rules of the world, only to realize that NONE OF IT was necessary. My solution is to let myself infodump and then go back and delete it.