Today, former Bookreporter staffer and debut author Anna Jarzab stops by to introduce herself to Teenreads.com readers after working behind the scenes with us for nearly two years. If you were curious about typical bio information like where she grew up or went to school or how she started writing, too bad! Instead, she chooses a handful of obscure tidbits about herself, ranging from middle-school science fair exploits to food addictions to the meaning of her last name. Be sure to check out her novel, ALL UNQUIET THINGS, which just hit stores yesterday.
1. Even after years of extensive reading and study of the English language (and many, many visits to the relevant Wikipedia page), I’m still not entirely sure what a non sequitur is.
2. As far as I know, the only person I share my name with in the US is a one-year-old baby who was born on my birthday. Which is today, by the way.
3. I drink my tea with milk, like the British, even though I am not British.
4. All we listened to on the radio while I was growing up were oldies and classical, so I didn’t know that “they” were making new music until I was in the eighth grade, when I got my first CD from a friend for Christmas --- Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill.
5. My favorite short story is “Love is a Fallacy” by Max Shulman.
6. I’m totally fascinated by the Mitford family. I’m slowly collecting all the books written about or by them, and Nancy’s novels are some of my favorite books of all time.
7. I’m addicted to Diet Coke.
8. My last name is Polish. Jarzab is a kind of flowering tree; in English it’s called a serviceberry, among other names.
9. I won fourth place in my eighth grade science fair, with a project entitled “How Acid Rain Affects Plants.” Spoiler! Not well.
10. I love pickled beets.
-- Anna Jarzab
