March 4, 1965: Khaled Hosseini born.
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Q&A with Sid Groeneman
Sid Groeneman is the author of the book America's Sports Fans and their Teams: Who Roots for Whom and Why. A retired survey research professional, he lives in Bethesda, Maryland.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for your book, and have
you always been a sports fan?
A: The book addresses questions that have always interested
me— why different people like different sports, and how people decide which
teams to root for.
I grew up in Toledo, Ohio, a medium-size city not large
enough to support a major league franchise, but pretty close to Detroit and
Cleveland, and also located in between Columbus and Ann Arbor.
So, from an early age, I was curious to know why some
Toledoans supported Detroit teams and others favored Cleveland teams. Similarly
for rooting for Ohio State University or the University of Michigan (my alma
mater).
Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn
that particularly surprised you?
A: The book required two very different kinds of research:
(1) the standard type of literature review to incorporate what others who have
written about sports fans have said (or learned from data they’ve compiled);
(2) a national survey of 1,303 fans and 522 non-fans that I designed and
conducted to get much of the raw material for the book.
I also personally conducted 80 follow-up interviews by
telephone with selected survey respondents to get more in-depth information and
to be able to add “color” to the statistical findings from the survey.
Two things come to mind which surprised me, Deborah. First
is the diversity of reasons fans give for liking/following a particular team.
Second are the differences between baseball fans and fans of the three other
major professional team sports in the U.S.—football, basketball, and hockey.
When baseball fans were asked why they like baseball (or
their favorite team that plays baseball), they tend more than others to stress
growing up as a baseball fan and fond, nostalgic memories. Some cannot imagine
NOT being a fan of their favorite team because it’s become so ingrained, such
an integral part of their identity.
For fans liking football, basketball, or hockey best, there
is SOME of that type of answer expressed, but far less. Instead, they are much more
likely to stress enjoying watching the action on the field, court, or ice.
Basketball fans often mention specific players they like.
Hockey fans mention the roughness of the game more than other fans.
Q: Would you say most people are fans of the teams where
they grew up, or are there other factors that are more likely to influence
people?
A: Yes, “home team” or geographic proximity explains why
most fans pick a favorite team to pull for— either the team they grew up with
or the team they currently live closest to. But about one-quarter select a team
that satisfies neither of those conditions.
I suggest in the book that this might be changing, as
younger fans are more likely to choose a non-local team, which I speculate
might be due to their having greater facility with electronic and computer
technologies—which facilitates following non-local teams.
As for other or supplementary reasons expressed for
liking/following a favorite team, there were many, including family and social
reasons, liking a particular player/strategy/style, social pressures, sympathy
for underdogs, the team’s values, or even to start a rivalry or competition
with family member or friend.
Q: Did you notice any regional differences as far as sports
fandom goes?
A: Regional differences in sport preferences are not
prominent or quite predictable, e.g., hockey being more popular in the
Northeast and Midwest, baseball being less popular percentage-wise in the South
(probably because fewer teams there relative to the population), and college
football being least popular in the Northeast.
Age and race differentiate sports fans more; for example,
baseball fans are older than fans of pro football, basketball, and hockey.
African-Americans follow baseball less than others (possibly
due to the diminishing number of African-American role models in the Major
Leagues), but, are more likely to follow basketball and, surprisingly, are more
likely to be tennis fans.
The latter finding puzzled me at first, but then it came to
me that it must be due to the success and popularity of Venus and Serena
Williams.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I just finished two hard years working on ASF and have no
other topics I’m eager to explore. If I could get some funding, I would
definitely consider preparing a second edition of ASF with fresh data from an
updated survey.
Because the sports world changes rapidly, some parts of the
book are already becoming a little dated (the lists of favorite teams),
although the REASONS why people become fans, and like certain sports and teams
best shouldn’t change much over time.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I’m glad you asked. America’s Sports Fans and Their Teams
is available at Amazon.com—both in paperback and e-book versions. The paperback
is also for sale at Politics & Prose bookstore on Connecticut Avenue in Washington,
D.C.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
Friday, March 2, 2018
Q&A with Lianne Oelke
Lianne Oelke is the author of the new young adult novel Nice Try, Jane Sinner, which focuses on a teenager who joins the cast of a reality TV show. Oelke lives in Vancouver.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for your novel,
and for your character Jane Sinner?
A: I struggled with depression in university, and keeping a
journal helped me deal with all my negative thoughts. When I re-read what I
wrote, I didn't like the person I was. I started typing up the journal entries
so I could take out things I didn't like and add things that made me laugh.
Eventually I realized that I was writing about someone like
me, but different. Bolder. Someone with a cool name, like Jane Sinner. I weaved
in a plot to tie everything together (I was watching a lot of The Bachelor at
the time, so reality TV was a natural choice).
Once I decided I was writing a novel, it took about three
years to finish a draft I was reasonably proud of.
Q: What do you think the book says about the role of reality
TV in today’s world?
A: Reality TV--just like social media--has done so much to
open up personal lives to the world. Anyone can share anything, and it's both
intimate and alienating.
Part of the appeal of putting yourself out there is that it
allows you to be seen and understood. It's also comforting to watch all the
weird and unflattering moments of other people's lives and think yeah, maybe I
don't have everything together but at least all my flaws aren't
televised.
Jane tries so hard to stay in control of her image, but also
refuses to admit she really cares about what people think of her. She
eventually has to learn she can't have it both ways.
Q: Did you plot the book out before writing it, or did you
make many changes along the way?
A: The book started out as pure character. I had to
consciously add and condense the plot as I went along. Because Nice Try, Jane
Sinner is told from Jane's journal, the writing process was organic and messy.
I'd cut and paste journal entries here and there. Tightening up the reality
show aspect really helped to focus the plot and turn the journal into a
novel.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it
signify for you?
A: The title was originally House of Orange: the name of the
reality show Jane competes in. I thought it was punchy and fun and original,
but my publisher thought it sounded like a Netflix mashup of House of Cards and
Orange Is the New Black.
They asked for a new title that featured Jane Sinner's name,
since it's such a character-driven novel. I came up with a variety of options,
but everyone agreed that Nice Try, Jane Sinner did justice to the heart and
spirit of the book. It captures the weird blend of humour, irony, and sincerity
that Jane lives by.
It was weird for many months, but now I can't imagine
calling the book anything else!
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm working on a dark, multi-POV fantasy inspired by
saga-age Iceland. Vikings, volcanoes, and witchcraft, oh my!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: It's snowing in Vancouver right now and I'm not
impressed. Also, my cat was super brave at the vet today.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Q&A with Tom Feiling
Tom Feiling is the author of the new book The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony. He also has written The Candy Machine and Short Walks from Bogota. He is based in London.
Q: You write that you first learned about the Caribbean
island of Providence while researching the English Civil War. What first
compelled you to write a book about the island’s history?
A: I had lived in Colombia, and I’d written two books
[focused on Colombia]. I was still interested in Colombia, but I wanted to
write a book that might bridge both my country and Colombia. I’d heard about
the island—it used to be English and now was part of Colombia. The people speak
English.
I’d never been there…It was something I never knew anything
about. There was no mention of it at all in England. It was important for a
time before England had any colonies.
Q: How would you compare the history of Providence island
with the history of its “rival colony” in New England?
A: What was interesting is that the English settled New
England and 10 years later, Providence, but they weren’t entirely committed to
North America until Providence collapsed.
The real reason they started the empire is that rich English
people wanted luxury products that came from affluent European countries. They
really wanted a tropical colony.
They saw New England as a place for frightened Puritans to
run away to. It wasn’t seen as an economic benefit. If people were really bold,
they would go into places and get their hands on nice tropical goods.
And then when they realized the island wasn’t good for
producing crops, they thought it would be a guardhouse for a huge empire in Central
America. They weren’t thinking about colonizing North America.
Q: What would you say is the legacy of this early colony?
A: The original colony only lasted 10 years, and then the
colony was abandoned for 100 years and then was resettled. People who live on
the island today have nothing to do with the original colony, but a lot of
people in Colombia say the island is pirates, that they’re all European
pirates.
It’s quite hard being an English-speaking Colombian on a
little island. They feel maligned and overlooked.
I got interested in how the early colonists were half pirate
and half Puritan. They were half very religious and high-minded, and half,
Where’s the next drink?, or, I want guns so I can rob the Spaniards. They had
very low ideals and yet they wanted to create heaven on earth. It was a very
mixed approach with very mixed motives.
Q: How did you research this book, and what did you find
that especially surprised you?
A: A certain amount was just reading. There wasn’t a lot of material
directly about the island. I didn’t know much about that period. On the island
itself, there were a few books that only 20 copies were made, memories an old
granddad had written down, [material] of real local interest.
I did a lot of interviews with people on the island: How do
you understand your history? We all have a sense of what our forefathers did,
but on the island, there’s a lot of myth. I was interested in looking at the
myth.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’ve done two books about Colombia, and then this. I
don’t just want to do Colombia stuff. I’m in Japan now. I lived here for three
years after graduating from university, and I’m here to see how the country
changed.
I’m still not entirely sure what I’m going to write about, but
I think I will write about how Japan is getting older, the demographic changes,
and asking the question, Is this where we’re all headed?
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I’m really happy the book is coming out in America as
well. It’s bound up in the English Civil War, but from an American point of
view it’s interesting to look at the great “what if”—if Providence had
succeeded, perhaps New England would have been forgotten. I
It makes you think about what New England was doing right
and Providence was doing wrong. A lot of it is about the origins of the United
States. I hope it will appeal to an American audience.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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