Q & A with Vikas Swarup

I was glad to have caught the Vikas Swarup book signing last week at National Book Store Glorietta 5, even though I had to sit through an hour of horrible traffic just to get there.

I saw Slumdog Millionaire when it was released and I enjoyed it, but I hadn’t gotten the chance to read the novel Q & A, on which the movie was based. But I enjoy meeting authors and talking to them, so I really wanted to interview Mr, Swarup. I was worried because he was scheduled for dinner over at the neighboring city, so I was glad he obliged when I ambushed him for an interview over cocktails (ooh, samosas and kebabs, and it was almost as if I could hear Jai Ho! in the background)!

Read on for an exclusive Q & A with Vikas Swarup!

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Trivia, trivia #2

A few months back, I did a review of a series of trivia books and I’ve finished a bunch more since then. I have a habitual vice of poring into tomes of useless information, especially when I’m too stressed to read continuously, or when I need a break from long narratives.

This time around, I have another set of four trivia books on a variety of subjects, from general information to language to etiquette and combat: Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze? and 114 Other Questions edited by  Mick O’ Hare; Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Everyday by Albert Jack (illustrated by Ama Page); Directions to Servants by Jonathan Swift; and The Action Heroine’s Handbook by Jennifer Worick and Joe Borgenicht (books 237-240 of 2009).

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