Yesterday I interviewed Jennifer Close for Open Book: Toronto. Jennifer is the bestselling author of GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES and her second novel is THE SMART ONE. Here is a link to the post:

http://openbooktoronto.com/atsintziras/blog/jennifer_close_writing_reading_and_teaching

Jennifer is really inspiring and I love reading her book recommendations which she tweets and posts on her blog.

Here’s the link to my author page at Open Book: Toronto, where you’ll find my bio, recommended books and web sites, and my posts. I’ll be blogging over there for the month of January about the writing life.

http://www.openbooktoronto.com/aya_tsintziras/main

Also, here’s an interview about writing PRETTY BONES:

http://www.openbooktoronto.com/interviews/writing_with_aya_tsintziras

Here are my 2012 highlights, both writing-related and not:

1.) Starting grad school.

2.) Becoming addicted to yoga. There’s a really great studio in my neighbourhood and I took an Intro. to Yoga course there in May and June, and since then I’ve been going a few times a week.

3.) Signing my book at the Ontario Library Association Conference in February.

4.) Participating in a panel called The Writing Life at Hart House at the University of Toronto in March. This was really fun, especially since I did my undergrad at U of T.

5.) Going to the Fiona Apple concert in July. I’ve loved Fiona since I was fifteen and she was amazing live.

6.) Seeing some inspiring movies.My favourites this year: Silent House, Friends with Kids, The Hunger Games, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Five Year Engagement, This is 40, and Liberal Arts.

7.) Getting addicted to more TV shows. My favourites this year: Smash, Catfish, The Mindy Project, and The New Normal.

Now for some news: I’m going to be the Writer in Residence for Open Book: Toronto, which means I’ll be blogging there for January about all things literary. I’ll post the link to my author page there within the next two days.

Here’s to 2013!

Sanibel is beautiful, as you can see from these photos:

The condo area where I stayed

The beach

Palm trees

I also read some amazing books during my vacation:

1.) Apron Anxiety by Alyssa Shelasky, a fun memoir about the author’s journey toward happiness and cooking.

2.) Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan, a smart, charming book about four best friends and their years at Smith College and beyond.

3.) Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling, hilarious and witty.

4.) Stunning by Sara Shepard, a Pretty Little Liars novel, a series that I love.

Now that I’m home and it’s mid-July, I’m getting excited to start grad school this September — I’ll be starting my Masters of Journalism at Ryerson University. And, of course, I’m also getting excited for fall TV, Mindy Kaling’s new sitcom and 666 Park Avenue most of all.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jun/06/ray-bradbury-neil-gaiman-appreciation

Here’s a sweet story from that article that includes some great advice about the writing life:

“Last week, at dinner, a friend told me that when he was a boy of 11 or 12 he met Ray Bradbury. When Bradbury found out that he wanted to be a writer, he invited him to his office and spent half a day telling him the important stuff: if you want to be a writer, you have to write. Every day. Whether you feel like it or not. That you can’t write one book and stop. That it’s work, but the best kind of work. My friend grew up to be a writer, the kind who writes and supports himself through writing. Ray Bradbury was the kind of person who would give half a day to a kid who wanted to be a writer when he grew up.”

That really is the only way to be a writer — to totally devote your life to it, and to keep at it, no matter what.

http://www.canadianliving.com/blogs/life/2012/05/26/the-saturday-afternoon-book-club-for-june-3/

You could have your review published in a future issue of the magazine or on the Life blog!

Sophie Dahl has taught me how to cook. Her first cookbook, Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights, has an amazing chicken curry recipe, among many others, and her new book, Very Fond of Food, doesn’t disappoint. Sophie’s recipes tell a story. Whether she’s explaining how to create some ambience around a meal, for example making mushrooms on toast with a poached egg for an easy Sunday night dinner “watching a good old costume drama” (page 15) or dedicating a Gooseberry yogurt recipe to her aunt who happily discovered the fruit at an Amsterdam restaurant, Sophie’s recipes evoke a world of simple beauty. Sophie herself wears vintage style clothes and has wispy blonde hair and a charming attitude. She makes you really want to cook. I love her recipes because they are incredibly easy yet incredibly sophisticated. Last weekend, some friends came over for dinner and I made her coconut shrimp curry (from her first cookbook) which took all of fifteen minutes but looked impressive. Best of all, Sophie divides her recipes by season. And who doesn’t want a cookbook that comes with gorgeous photos and family stories?

The final installment in the series, Always Alice, will be published in Spring 2013 and will chart Alice’s life from 18 to 60. It’s hard to imagine this amazing series ever coming to an end. My friend Rebecca and I spent about twenty minutes texting about Alice yesterday until she finally said, “Do we collectively know too much about a fictional character?”

To which I replied, “She’s not fiction! She’s real!”

And she is. Alice is one of those characters that will always seem completely, totally real.

I went to a screening of The Queen of Versailles on Friday May 4^th as part of the Hot Docs festival here in Toronto, and the film was  powerful, interesting, intelligent, and beautifully shot.

The film follows David and Jackie Siegel and their wish to build the largest single-family home in America. David is a real estate mogul who lives in a mansion in Florida and has decided to build his dream house – a replica of Versailles. But then Wall Street crashes and his dreams tumble down along with it. Lauren met Jackie when photographing Donatella Versace for Elle magazine, and was invited to stay with Jackie. The two became friends and Lauren soon found her story. It’s a story of dreams, money, love, work, and family. The Queen of Versailles is definitely a film worth seeing.

This isn’t your usual celebrity memoir, because Diane Keaton isn’t your usual celebrity.

In fact, using the term “celebrity” feels wrong, somehow. Because Diane has written this book as a way to connect with her mother, who passed away recently, by writing her own story and also in the process writing her mother’s story, too. It’s a beautiful, touching, inspiring read that proves Diane Keaton is so much more than the quirky, menswear fashion icon seen in Annie Hall.

There’s some Woody Allen dish in the book, along with some words about Diane’s other lovers, Warren Beatty and Al Pacino, but the focus of this memoir is the family that Diane grew up in and the family that she has now created, a single mother of two adopted children.

What I loved the most about Then Again is learning about Diane’s mother Dorothy Hall – Woody based the Hall family on Diane’s, although the resemblance ends at the last name – and Dorothy’s struggles to express herself and remain creative. It’s impossible for a reader not to get emotional when Diane often intersperses her own journal entries with Dorothy’s – both mother and daughter have dabbled in art projects such as collages, and both have tried to figure out a way to be themselves while raising a family.

I dare you not to tear up at Diane’s words, a passage which becomes an explanation of the title: “One more thing, Mom. How does it all so soon become then? …It’s weird, but I think you’ll understand. As I’ve written our memoir – your words with my words – sometimes I feel like it’s Again without the Then” (page 256).

It’s also inspiring to read about a woman who defines herself by her creativity and her creative work, and that’s why Diane Keaton is a huge inspiration to me.