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By Archive
from Salem Monthly, Section News
Posted on Sat Apr 01, 2006 at 11:21:02 AM PDT
Jennifer Weiner tells all to Salem Monthly
In the world of chick-lit, Jennifer Weiner is a rock star. Her debut novel, “Good in Bed,” made the New York Times Bestseller list, followed quickly by “In Her Shoes” and “Little Earthquakes.” “In Her Shoes” is now a major motion picture, which stars Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette and is currently available on DVD. Her new novel, a mystery titled “Goodnight Nobody” is now in stores and quickly joining its predecessors on the bestseller charts. So why did this literary superstar come to Salem, Oregon?
“Because the library asked, and I’m all about libraries,” was her simple answer.
A lifelong avid reader, Weiner read Jodi Piccoult’s latest book on the plane to Salem, and raves about the bookstore in the Portland Airport because she can’t imagine flying home to Philadelphia without a book to read. She’s also a fan of Susan Issacs, Stephen King and his wife, Tabitha King.
Like her heroines, Weiner is approachable and down-to-earth with a quirky sense of humor. Weiner joked with the packed crowd in Loucks Auditorium about her slight addiction to reality TV, her curves (“Some of my best friends are thin”), where she gets her ideas (“At Target, along with every thing else”). Her novels feature real-sized women, occupying small apartments, working frustrating jobs, and dealing with major life changes: pregnancy, family feuds, marriage, parenthood, and moving. These heroines are likeable because they are so real to most women.
Weiner explains that she “gets mileage out of worst case scenarios.” This approach is key to her humor. For her latest book, “Goodnight Nobody,” Weiner drew upon her experiences as a new mother. “When my daughter was seven weeks old, finding myself pregnant with twins would have been the absolute worst thing that could have happened.”
Weiner springs this fear on her heroine and then escalates the nightmare by dropping her in the midst of an unfamiliar suburban environment.
Thrusting characters into every woman’s nightmare is hardly a novel idea, but what is unique is the way in which Weiner resolves these crises with humor and charm, making readers laugh even as they cringe with sympathy. “In Her Shoes” illustrates this perfectly. Finding humor in such everyday moments is undoubtedly part of what makes Weiner’s books so appealing to Hollywood. “In Her Shoes” seems tailor-made for the comedic talents of Diaz and Collette. HBO considered making a series out of “Good in Bed,” but now Universal is contemplating making a movie out of the book. “Little Earthquakes” has also been optioned. In addition to “Goodnight Nobody,” Weiner also has a collection of short stories, “The Guy Not Taken” due out this summer.
Like her heroines, Weiner has faced a series of major life changes in the past few years. Not only has Hollywood come a-calling, but she has also gotten married, dealt with family upheaval, and had a daughter. Not quite a “worst case scenario,” but still a lot to cram into just a few years. Yet Weiner hasn’t lost touch with a childhood spent riding her bike to the library, and years spent chasing her dream of being the next Nora Ephron.
Now, as young writers aspire to be the next Jennifer Weiner, Weiner remains as delightfully down-to-earth as her heroines. She talks about finally feeling like an adult, not when she hit the NY Times bestseller list, but when she bought fish for 12 for Passover last year. She takes a yoga class, but cracks jokes with her friend about an instructor who “looks like an anatomy chart.” She was thrilled to have “In Her Shoes” made into a movie, but her main concern was cementing her status as “#1 Grandchild” by getting her Nana cast as an extra.
Even in a near-capacity crowd, people immediately identify with Weiner and feel as though they have just made a friend. A pretty nifty trick to accomplish in less than an hour and with more than 200 people. In such a setting, she isn’t “Jennifer Weiner, superstar,” but rather she, like the best of her heroines, is simply one of us.
“In Her Shoes” is available at movie rental outlets throughout Salem. “Goodnight Nobody” and Jennifer Weiner’s other books can be purchased from Jackson’s Books or borrowed from the Salem Public Library.
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