Book Harvest community members on books and the words they live by.
March 1, 2021
Daniel Wallace
Daniel is the author of six novels, including Big Fish (1998), Ray in Reverse (2000), The Watermelon King (2003), Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician (2007), The Kings and Queens of Roam (2013), and most recently Extraordinary Adventures (May 2017).
Is there a book or genre that stands out in your memory from your youth?
The first book I remember falling in true love with reading is “Gulliver’s Travels.” It’s the only book in my life that I literally could not put down. Even when it was time to take a bath I wouldn’t stop reading it. By the time I was finished the book looked like it had been washed in with the tide.
What kind of books are on your bookshelf?
I just looked. What kind of book isn’t? Short stories, poetry, books about writing and life and death and novels from all over the world. A couple of them it appears I wrote, though I don’t remember doing that.
Who is your favorite all-time character from a book?
So hard to say!!!! But: Isabel Archer from Portrait of a Lady.
What kind of reader were you as a child?
I liked to read but I wasn’t the secret-reading-flashlight-under-the-covers kid. But I read widely and for years (like, even now) was drawn to books that had at least A FEW illustrations in it. All books should have pictures.
What book should everybody read before they turn 18?
Catcher in the Rye
If you could have dinner with three authors from any period in time, who would you pick?
Italo Calvino, Emily Dickinson, and a surprise guest.
What are the children in your life currently reading?
My daughter just read ON TYRANNY by Timothy Snyder, which she loved.
What is your favorite place to read? Pre- and/or during the pandemic?
Big Overstuffed White Chair and a Half.
We hope you enjoyed our first Words to Live By feature! We are so grateful to Daniel for being a friend to Book Harvest and for answering our questions. You can read more about Daniel Wallace on his website: http://danielwallace.org/daniel-wallace-bio/