Saturday, September 21, 2013

Yona Zeldis McDonough

Yona Zeldis McDonough is the author of the novels A Wedding in Great Neck, Breaking the Bank, In Dahlia's Wake, and The Four Temperaments, as well as numerous books for children.

Her new novel is Two of a Kind.

A couple of weeks ago I asked the author about what she was reading. McDonough's reply:
I seldom read a single book at a time; I tend to buzz back and forth between several, like a happy bee in a flower-filled garden. Right now I am reading Dear Life by Alice Munro because when it comes to perfectly crafted, poised yet deeply affecting short stories, nobody does it better than Munro. I’ve also got John Irving’s The Fourth Hand on my nightstand. I think Irving is a modern-day Dickens and I am always so satisfied by the richness of his fictional world, which is teeming with odd ball characters, unlikely turns of plot, and crazy coincidences. Somehow he always makes it all work.

Also in the mix is The Bees, by British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. I had never heard of Duffy and found her book on the shelf at a local thrift shop. I was instantly hooked by these poems, many of them about bees but some about other things too, like war and the perfidious nature of some governments. Finally, there is a glossy picture book of jewelry created by the designer Tony Duquette. This was a birthday gift from my husband and though I will never own any of Duquette’s actual creations, I love poring over the pictures of his divinely inspired masterpieces.
Visit Yona Zeldis McDonough's website.

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Yona Zeldis McDonough & Queenie, Willa and Holden.

My Book, The Movie: Two of a Kind.

The Page 69 Test: Two of a Kind.

--Marshal Zeringue