Rebecca shares her thoughts on, “Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time: The Book Lover’s Guide to Literary Trivia” by Dave Astor
“Literature can send our minds to another time and place, allowing us to forget our lives and troubles for a few precious hours. It can educate us about history, open our minds, increase our empathy, make us think, give us things to converse about, and/or provide plenty of excitement along with the escapism.” Dave Astor
Click on the Photograph below to read a sample!
The Book Dialogue 
Thank you for the reminder that I’ve been meaning to get Dave’s book! It is now on my Kindle.
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You will enjoy Dave’s book, Liz. You know how much I love trivia – this book is filled with trivia that adds so much to my reading enjoyment. I would never have considered reading H.P Lovecraft if I hadn’t read Dave’s book. How is this for a great trivia moment: Jules Verne knew Alexandre Dumas and worked on a play with Dumas’s son. Who knew? I didn’t!!
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I’m sure I will! I didn’t know about the Verne and Dumas connection either.
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I very much appreciate your kind words, Rebecca! And I love that Dumas-Verne trivia you cited. 🙂 It’s fascinating to hear about the connections between authors — with other examples including Dickens-Twain, Hawthorne-Melville, etc.
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Your book is always close by, Dave. I would never have ventured into the books of H.P.Lovecraft without reading his background in your book. I was inspired by H.P.Lovecraft’s kindness. “Though he didn’t enjoy much success while living, the discouraged Lovecraft offered encouragement to aspiring writers in some of the thousands of letters he wrote.” It was a reminder to of Van Gogh’s life and his thought “a great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves at it, and passers-by only see a wisp of smoke.”
Kindness continues and lingers, influencing those who come after.
Many thanks for a wonderful book. You use of “trivia” in the title was brilliant. (You know how I love trivia)
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A shame, Rebecca, when creators like van Gogh and Lovecraft become famous posthumously rather than in their lifetimes. Seems so unfair. But, yes, displaying kindness is something just as important, if not more important, than fame. Of course Lovecraft had some negative qualities (he was not the most racially enlightened man, for instance) but replying with all those letters to aspiring writers was quite something. And his stories and novellas were indeed memorable!
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Thanks so much, Liz! I hope you enjoy it. 🙂
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You’re welcome, Dave! I’m sure I will.
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Thanks so much for this wonderful podcast, Rebecca and Sarah! I always love your discussions, and really appreciate the kind words you had about my literary-trivia book. 🙂
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This is so interesting and I am so excited to hear more about Dave Astor. I have used some of his words in my messages, and even though I knew a lot about his influence and wisdom, I am excited to know so much more about him and I will have his books at my near-by table. I am looking forward to cashing in on the words and wisdom he has shared. I will certainly want to purchase his book and learn all that he has to offer! ! Thank you for sharing, and we will be discussing more of these important subjects.
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Thank you very much for your very kind words, Frances! The feeling is mutual — I greatly appreciate your wisdom and experience, heard on podcasts and seen in comments under blogs and on Facebook. 🙂
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Thank you, Dave, for all that I have already learned from my connection with my privilege of getting to know a little about you and all that you have written. I am looking for so much more, thank you! !
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You’re welcome, Frances, and thank YOU! 🙂
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Hi Rebecca, Hi Sarah, this is a wonderful discussion about Dave Astor’s book which I also really enjoyed. I discovered some new books and authors through my reading of it. I also love his weekly blog post about literature and books.
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Thanks so much, Robbie! 🙂
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Thank you for listening in,Robbie. I was on Amazon and found your review of Dave’s book. I had to add your thoughts because they are spot on!! I LOVE meeting up every Sunday morning at Dave’s “place” for a great post and a most excellent follow-up discussion. I learn something new every time I stop by!
Robbie Cheadle’s Review:
A gem of a book
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 6, 2021
I am a great lover of classic books and I also enjoy reading biographies of the authors who wrote the classic books I’ve enjoyed. This short book is a selection of sound bytes, providing interesting and often little know facts and insights into the lives, loves, and writing processes of a large number of authors. For me, it was a bit like a box of chocolates with each short chapter being a tantalizing taste of what I could uncover if I wanted to research the various people further. I liked the idea of giving small titbits of information to trigger searches for more detail at the readers discretion, it is very empowering. The book covers a huge range of writers, many of whom I already knew like Hemingway, Faulkner, Gilman, Huxley, Laurence, Tolkien, and Wells, and others who are new to me. I was delighted to discover all these new classic books and famous authors whose works I will be delving into over the next several years. I will certainly be reverting back to this gem of a book when deciding on my next read. I recommend this book to lovers of literature who are interested in finding new books and authors.
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Thank you, Rebecca, for the additional nice words. 🙂 Thanks, also, for mentioning and posting Robbie’s Amazon review of my book; somehow I had missed seeing that review before. Robbie, I very much appreciate your kind review. Many thanks! (Belatedly.)
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Hi Rebecca, thank you for sharing my review here. I enjoyed Dave’s book very much. I usually read DAve’s post on a Tuesday morning and then I read all the comments too. His post takes me up to an hour to read and comment on [smile]
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I enjoy our discussions, Robbie. An hour well-spent!! Hugs!
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Oh yes 💜
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Robbie, thank you taking all that time out of your busy schedule to read my blog! I always greatly look forward to your comments — and everyone else’s comments — under it. For one thing, those comments have let me know about countless authors and novels I otherwise would not have read. 🙂
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What you quoted at the end from Dave’s book is so very true. And what you say about his book has been true for me as well. We often wonder about an author; was so-and-so familiar with so-and-so, since their themes and worldviews are similar? Or did they simply admire one another from afar? I’ve found these connections much more with non-fiction, however. Like Nietzsche and Emerson or Camus and Dostoevsky. Dave’s book about fiction writers’ trivia sounds like a perfect recipe for focus, forgetting and fun! His Sunday blog is a perfect place for recommended reading by Dave and all the participating fiction fans.
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I am so glad that you enjoyed this conversation, Mary Jo. Dave’s quote is the quintessential definition of reading. I look forward to Sunday mornings with Dave, books, and friends. I have been giving a lot of thought to connections, not only in books but in art, philosophy, science. I did not know until I read Dave’s book that Gustave Flaubert was Guy de Maupassant’s mentor. I think of the Glasgow Girls and the Inklings. I would love to have been a fly on the wall in Gertrude Stein’s home when she entertained artist, writing, thinkers. I believe that Dave has created a virtual space similar to the coffee shops where friends met to discuss all things that made life interesting. Many thanks for your comments Mary Jo – very much appreciated.
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Rebecca, when you wrote “I believe that Dave has created a virtual space similar to the coffee shops where friends met to discuss all things that made life interesting” (thank you!), I thought of your weekly podcast and your various blogs. 🙂
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Thank you, Mary Jo, for your kind words and the great comment! I agree — plenty of connections among nonfiction authors, too! By the way, I just started reading a Lawrence Osborne novel for the first time after you recommended his writing. Just 40 pages in so far, but “The Glass Kingdom” is very compelling.
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You’re welcome, Dave. I’m so glad you’re enjoying one of Osborne’s works!
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Another delightful post, Rebecca and Sarah. It’s always fun and interesting to hang out with you. Dave’s book sounds like great fun. Hugs all around.
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I am delighted that you listened in, Teagan. You will enjoy Dave’s book. He enticed me to explore authors that I would never have thought of reading. For example Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823), an English novelist and a pioneer of Gothic fiction. I continue to learn! Sending hugs on the wing!
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Thank you, Rebecca! Given the especially patriarchal times in centuries past, one is especially impressed with the way some women authors managed to get published and write such great works. Ann Radcliffe, Fanny Burney, Jane Austen, etc.
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Thanks so much, Teagan! Rebecca and Sarah are indeed a terrific podcast team. 🙂
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