I’ve said “But have you read the book” dozens of times. Most recently to friends when discussing 2022’s adaptation of Delia Owen’s novel Where the Crawdad’s Sing. But Have you Read the Book is the brilliant title of the newest edition from the TCM Library. Written by Kristen Lopez, I had the pleasure of sitting down for a Zoom interview with her and had a great conversation about the book, and how it came to fruition.
Although this is her first book, she’s certainly not new to writing. Kristen has written articles and essays for the likes of Variety, TCM, and The Hollywood Reporter. When asked about the writing process of an article or essay versus the larger scale of a book, she jokingly talked about the pandemic’s effect on everyone’s social lives in 2020. She was able to hole up for a few weeks at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles and finish the book. What a more perfect time to write a book, am I right? She discussed wanting to be able to edit and move things around in the essays within the book when she reread them. But in the book process, there were certain times when the book couldn’t be edited. She also shared that in articles/essays you’re able to be a little more opinionated, and share your feelings on the subject more. In a book like this one, you have to be more neutral and leave yourself at the door.
The idea for the book was one TCM had already green lit, but had no author attached. She had talked with her friend, and fellow TCM book author John Malahy about writing a book. He put her in touch with TCM. She gave them her ideas, wrote some chapters for the book, and they went with her to write it. TCM had few restrictions for Kristen, other than wanting her to include a diverse range of authors/filmmakers to include women, the LGBTQ community and people of color. They also had the title chosen already, which she said she’d love to take credit for. And wouldn’t we all!? The title is brilliant!
When I asked about the number of essays included, which is 52, she laughed. Everyone assumes it was a preplanned number to coincide with 52 weeks in a year. She explained that she turned in about 70-80 titles as possiblities for the book. Between TCM, and herself, they whittled it down to 52. After reading the book, I do think it would be fun for someone to read one a week. If you haven’t seen or read the title for the week, you could read the book or watch the movie ahead of time. That would make for a year of great reading and movie watching.
The old saying goes “Never judge a book by it’s cover”, but lets face it; we all do it. And this cover is fierce! It’s also a little peek into the beautiful illustrations that fill the book. There are full page illustrations for titles like Wuthering Heights, and True Grit. Then there are smaller ones that depict iconic moments from movies like Rebecca and Jaws. Illustrator Jyotirmayee Patra created beautiful pictures that add such a rich layer to the book that wouldn’t be there without them. Kristen said the illustrations add to the literary theme of the book, and I couldn’t agree more. TCM had decided the book would have illustrations before Kristen was on board with the book, but she did say if there was a vol. 2 (there definitely should be), she wouldn’t be opposed to full color photographs instead of illustrations.
I was curious about entries that she really wanted to add to the collection, but didn’t make the cut. One author she was very keen to include was Dennis Lehane, mentioning Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone in particular. TCM felt she had too many suspense and mysteries, and had her cut many out. Mystic River would have been a fantastic edition to the collection if you ask me. A great book, made into a really gritty film by Clint Eastwood. She also wanted to add more obscure films, like 2012’s Savages, a movie by Oliver Stone, but it didn’t make the cut.
She was quick to answer when I asked what her favorite essay was of the collection. 1939’s Wuthering Heights, because it was the novel that made her fall in love with literature and also because she loves this particular film version. She also named Jurassic Park and Call Me By Your Name as her other favorites. I was so pleased to see entries in the collection like Mildred Pierce, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Psycho, and Jaws. Overall, she did a wonderful job choosing diverse works that span more than 200 years. Included are works like Frankenstein, and The Thin Man from the 30’s, all the way to 2021’s Dune remake. There really is something for everyone in this collection.
I had such a fun conversation with Kristen! I loved that she had TCM on in the background like I did during our interview. She said she’s an avid TCM watcher. I hope you enjoyed reading about our interview. If you’re interested in buying her book, the link is at the top of the page, and at the side of this blog post. Both take you to Amazon, but the book can be preordered wherever you buy your books online. Pub day for But Have you Read the Book is March 7th.
As always, Slow down and enjoy a Tuesday Matinee.
Megan