Growing up, Emily Giffin was always surrounded by books courtesy of her librarian mother. It wasn’t long before she wasn’t just reading, but writing, illustrating, binding and even acting out her own stories. Years later, Emily is now a bestselling author and mom is one of her earliest readers and sounding boards.
Emily on her mother:
My mother, a former librarian, loves books and instilled in me, at a very young age, a love of reading and writing. She also worked hard to cultivate my imagination and storytelling (even excusing some fabricated, very far-fetched fibs). My fondest memories of growing up are of going to the library with her, and of reading books together. She was also my biggest supporter when I decided to write my first novel, and again when I retired from the practice of law to pursue writing as a full-time career. I dedicated my first novel, SOMETHING BORROWED, to her for many reasons, but one of them was a way of thanking her for being such a profound influence on my writing life.
Answers from Emily’s Mother:
Did you read to your daughter as a child? What did you read?
We read all the time. Her favorites as a very little girl were anything illustrated by Gyu Fujjikawa, and THE FOURTEEN BEARS IN SUMMER AND WINTER by Evelyn Scott. She obsessed over those bears, memorizing their names and coming up with her own little back stories for each of them. We then moved on to chapter books, reading Beverly Cleary and Madeleine L’Engle aloud at bedtime. A sentimental favorite was THE LITTLE PRINCESS --- the inspiration for my two daughters’ names (Sarah, after the princess, and her doll, Emily).
How old was your daughter when she started reading?
She pretended she could read at age 3, but really started reading in kindergarten. As much as she relished that independence, she still liked when we all read together.
Did your child have a favorite series/author growing up?
She loved the Ramona books (children who got in trouble was a favorite theme --- maybe because she never did) and now she is reading them aloud to her 6-year-old twin sons. The Betsy Tacy and Tib books by Maud Hart Lovelace were also favorites. I loved them as a child and she did too, which was very gratifying. It didn't always work out --- FIVE LITTLE PEPPERSandHOW THEY GREW never caught on!
Did you have any book or reading rituals in your house?
Emily’s father was transferred every couple years when she was growing up. As soon as we moved to a new town, the first thing we did was go to the library and get our cards. On the way home in the car she and her sister Sarah would take turns reading the first page of the books they had chosen aloud. Sometimes they would both pick a character and would read all the dialogue for that character. Emily especially enjoyed characters with British accents.
When did you know your daughter was going to be a writer?
From the very beginning she loved books. As soon as she could print, she wrote, illustrated and tied with yarn her own books. I have one that she gave me for Christmas called "And They Were Happy All the Time." It's a book of one page short stories, with the last line on each page declaring “and they were happy all the time.” (She still likes happy endings in her stories!) In the fourth grade she wrote a play called "The Day the Mothers Ran Away” which she and some neighborhood children acted out on our porch. Some of the fathers brought the girls flowers and it was a huge success --- very funny to the adults because it was about how overworked all the mothers were and how at last they just escaped for a weekend, leaving the fathers to do all the work.
Do you read advance copies of your daughter’s work?
Yes --- Emily has three people as “readers” and I am honored to be one of them. I read them chapter-by-chapter as she goes along, and make suggestions. Then I read them again when the galley comes, looking for errors. Believe it or not, we both really enjoy that process!
Do you have a favorite of your daughter’s books?
I love SOMETHING BLUE --- I love stories about transformation and redemption --- and I thought Darcy’s change was very believable and real. I even named my dog Darcy. She is a puppy now, and I sincerely hope she will change and grow, too!
What kinds of books do you enjoy reading?
I grew up as a huge book worm (“Go outside and get some fresh air” were words I heard every day), and then became a librarian. I recently retired and one of the things I enjoy doing most in my free time is read. I always have a book or two or three going. Right now I have a book to read at night --- very restful --- and a book for the rest of the day. Usually a nonfiction book as well.
I enjoy many genres, but I typically favor female writers, and my favorite books are set in England. I love Elizabeth George, Ruth Rendell, P.D. James, Deborah Crombie and Alexander McCall Smith. I love discovering new (to me) authors, but always look forward to the latest releases by my favorites. I read all of Elinor Lipman’s the day they are released, and even re-read some of her old ones, such as THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE (one of Emily’s favorites also) to see if it is as good as I remembered. It always is. I know I’ve left some favorites out as there are so many. I love talking about books --- one of the reasons I was a librarian. It has been such fun and so satisfying watching Emily’s career.
Emily Giffin is the author of SOMETHING BLUE, SOMETHING BORROWED, BABY PROOF and LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH. Her latest novel, HEART OF THE MATTER, will be in stores May 11th. Click here to see our Bookreporter.com feature on Emily and HEART OF THE MATTER.
