Blogger Interview: JJ from Around the Modern Library

Please welcome JJ, the teenager who plans to read the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I'm a high schooler in the South, who loves to read, write, play music, and volunteer at church.

What do you do when you're not writing?

Play music, read, go to church, and the bane of high school, homework. And of course hang out with friends is a given.

Where did the idea for 'Around the Modern Library' come from?

I was looking up Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison because it is the most used book on the AP literature test, when it mentioned it was on the Modern Library 100 greatest novels. I looked it up and one of the entries wasedrants.com and I saw the challenge and decided to take it.

What books on the list are you most looking forward to reading?

Rereading Great Gatsby for one, an Ulysses just because of it's intriguing story. Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies look great, and Pale Fire sounds cool. I'm excited that I'll be able to say I read Finnegans Wake, but not excited to read it, if that makes sense. I'm actually excited to read a large portion of the Radcliffe list too, but I can't list them all. Two I'm not looking forward too, just for an extra tidbit, are Gone With The Wind because Scarlett is awful, and The Fountainhead since I've read it before and think there isn't really a redeemable character in the entire book, even Roark ticks me off.

Do you come from a family of readers and writers? Do they support you in your decision?

My grandpa was a literature professor, but other than that, not really. They support me, as long as I don't drop the ball with school while I do it haha.

Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or hardcover?

I've never read on an eBook but I feel like I might prefer it for ease of use, but a hardcover feels the best. It feels the most tangible, and paperback is too flimsy to be my favorite.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Eoin Colfer who writes the Artemis Fowl series is an awesome children/young adult writer, but in the realm of real literature, I would have to say Joseph Heller, because of his wit, and his crazy writing style.

What do you think makes a good story?

An interesting writing style can make nearly any interesting story good, but I think a kind of real world, with just a bit of unrealistic bits (like Catch-22's extreme exaggeration, or in the case of Artemis Fowl, the real world, but magical creatures live far underground.)

Do you ever experience writer's block?

With school assignments on stuff I don't like, a lot, on anything I want to write about, it just flows. My newspaper articles I write in the student newspaper at my school, for instance, are easy to write for me.

Do you see writing as a career?

Not really, I writing is fun, but it's just a way to communicate to me, I'd just as well tell someone what in writing. I'm actually more scientific-minded, and my current career plan is a hospital pharmacist, so about the opposite end of writing I guess.

Do you have any advice for other book bloggers?

You have to be have a quirk, I'm young and people reacted well when they found out a teenager would be reading so much. If you have no unique aspect to your blog, it probably won't make waves. Also, you have to write about something you enjoy, not just write on anything.


Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions, JJ!

If you enjoyed this interview and want to learn more, visit his blog Around the Modern Library and follow along on Twitter.