This week I have the very good fortune to be in Minneapolis Minnesota for the PLA (Public Library Asssociation) conference. Thousands of librarians from all over the United States gather for several days of workshops, entertainment, and swapping ideas and stories.One of the sessions I signed up to attend was a special author luncheon with Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries and many other boo
ks for teens. I will openly admit that I have never read any of her books, nor have I even seen the Princess Diaries movies - I've always felt they were a little "girly" for my usual reading tastes. However, after hearing her speak I know that I must give them a try - if they are even half as funny as she was in person I know I'll like them.Meg shared stories with us about her childhood, and how the library was a sanctuary from her "unsatisfactory home life." It was there that she discovered a love of reading classic literature, beginning with Jane Eyre. She had outgrown the children's books, and the YA books at that time had rather grim subject matter. When she decided to get serious about writing, she remembered decided she wanted to write books that were funny, and in which nobody dies. it took her several years of sending query letters to get an agent, and another two years before the first Princess Diaries book was published. She credits her tenacity and unwillingness to give up for her success.
Me - I'm looking forward to Meg's Airhead series, which will be coming out later this year. A brainy, gamer, feminist girl wakes up to discover that her brain has been transplanted into the body of a...supermodel! How could it not be funny!
Cheers from Minneapolis ~ Anne
2 comments:
Thanks for the report from PLA! I've never heard Ms. Cabot speak, but she sounds terrific.
My favorite of hers is The Mediator series. The first 3 Princess Diary books are good, but after that, not so much. I stopped reading after book 8, I think.
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