To The Best of Our Knowledge (TTBOOK), a Wisconsin Public Radio show, has featured a host of RGC Authors who’ve come to town to read at our home base, 702WI.
Go deeper in the world of each book and the creative process of each author by reading articles about the authors and listening as host Anne Strainchamps conducts insightful interviews.
We absolutely loved talking to Megan Stielstra about her new collection of essays. We asked her about fear, family relationships, and her reaction to the presidential election and current climate.
Reading Group Choices: We noticed there were more essays that involved information about your dad, and about your relationship with your dad. Is that because you connect fear to him more to you than to your mom (due to his health and his experience with the school shooting)?
We were fortunate to have Claire Fuller answer our questions about the character relationships and symbolism in her novel, and where she got the idea!
Reading Group Choices: Did Gil find all of the letters from Ingrid or just the portion we saw? Were there others?
Claire Fuller: Well, as Gil believes, I do think a reader’s interpretation is just as valid as the author’s once the book is out there being read,
This novel took us across history and kept us curious about the characters. Luckily, we caught up with Claire Cameron to share our impressions and get her insights, and learn about the inspiration for the story!
Reading Group Choices: First of all, thanks so much Claire for answering our questions!
Claire Cameron: I loved this interview, thank you. It’s so much fun to be a part of a conversation.
Given the lyric prose in the first novel by Eimear McBride, we enjoyed discussion the style as much as the story itself. The book brought up many important and timely issues to discuss: gender, power, trauma, individuality and perception, and caused us to consider how the meaning of of these words/themes change when they are specifically tied to a woman’s story. We were lucky enough to have Eimear answer a few questions for us!
RGC Group: When you began writing the book or had the idea for the book,
While the setting took Reading Group Choices back to middle school memories (some fond, some not so fond), the issues and struggles were ageless. We found much to discuss about grief, individuality, friendship, bullying, and the different actions that can be used in place of words. And Ali Benjamin kindly agreed to answer a few questions for us!
Reading Group Choices: You have a really interesting background as a writer in how varied it is—nonfiction articles,
