Bits 'n Pieces - Robin Wasserman

Robin Wasserman is the marvelous author of the YA novel, Skinned and it's sequel Crashed, to be released in September! I have yet to read Skinned, and based on all of the reviews it's received, I'm seriously missing out. I need to read it! You can learn more about Robin and her books at her site. I hope you guys like the interview. :)

This or that:
Rain or shine?

 Shine (unless I’m cranky, then rain)
iPod or mp3 player? 

iPod
Movies or TV? 

TV!!!
City or country? 

City if it’s Paris, otherwise, country
Mountains or beaches? 

Mountains (weirdly, until about five years ago, my answer to this question was always “Beaches – what kind of nutcase picks mountains?”
Dots or stripes? 

Stripes
Dogs or cats? 

I’ve always considered myself a dog person…but recently, I’ve begun to accept the fact that [small voice] I might actually prefer cats.
Cooking or eating out? 

Eating out
Coffee or tea? 

Hot chocolate
Books or magazines? 

Books

Favorites:
Book- 

The Hotel New Hampshire, by John Irving
Book store- 

The Barnes & Noble in the town where I grew up (many hours logged with friends in the teen section – when we were very much no longer teens -- reading sweet valley high and Christopher Pike and hoping no one would spot us)
Movie- 

Princess Bride
Music artist- 

I honestly don’t have one. I get bored listening to more than three songs in a row by the same people. I did used to be obsessed with Billy Joel.
Website- 

Television Without Pity (before Bravo bought it and completely screwed it up)
Designer- 

Tim Gunn
Coffee chain- 

I hate them all (easy, when you hate coffee)
Guilty pleasure- 

One Tree Hill
Restaurant- 

This tiny Italian place in the west village, whose name I won’t say here because I don’t want anyone else going there but me
Color- 

Green

Have you ever:
Lived abroad? 

For one month. And it was the best thing ever. I regret never doing it for longer.
Gotten a tattoo? 

No
Stayed up for the midnight release of a movie or book? 

Does it count that I once slept on the street in front of the Rent theater to get front row seats?

[Um, YES that counts. I wish I had gotten to see Rent live. I had to settle for the movie. :P]
Disliked your job? 

Yes. And yes again.
Cried during a movie? 

Yes. (Most embarrassing movie to have cried during? Rudy. Runner-up, that horrendous Hilary Swank movie, PS I Love You – especially embarrassing b/c I was on an airplane.)
Sang karaoke? 

Yes, unfortunately.

Questions:
If you were on a desert island, what 5 things would you bring with you?

 1) a boat. 2) suntan lotion. 3) a personal chef. 4) a snorkel mask. 5) I should probably say a notebook, but the more honest answer is a big stack of books.
What’s on the list of things you have to do during your life? 

Write a TV show.
If you could have one super power what would it be? 

Teleportation.
What’s your perfect music playlist? 

Oh jeez, I hate this question. My perfect playlist would be one created for me by someone else, so I didn’t have to think about it. But I suppose it would be equal parts Broadway soundtracks, 80s nostalgia tracks, and the occasional indie band from this decade (Decemberists, the Format, New Pornographers, etc)
What’s the one food you could eat day after day and not get sick of? 

Cheese. Mmm, cheese.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? 

Paris. Unless it’s summer – then Cinque Terre.
What moment in history do you wish you could’ve experienced? 

Fin-de-Siecle Vienna.
What does your dream library look like? 

A lot like this, actually:
http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1610/ff_walker_f.jpg
And this:
http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1610/ff_walker4_f.jpg

When you walk into a bookstore, where do you head first? 

The YA and children’s departments. (I realize this probably sounds like I’m looking for my own books and, okay, that’s true. But this has been my first stop for years and years, since long before I got published. There’s something very reassuring about all the familiar titles, like a piece of home in a foreign city.)
If everyone had to read one book, what would you have it be? 

This is a sort of depressing note to end with, but maybe Survival in Auschwitz (Primo Levi) or Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut)

Thank you sooo much Robin. :) I am really looking forward to reading Skinned. Especially after seeing the cover for Crashed

Doesn't that look amazing?! Ah. I swear I'm reading Skinned by the end of this month. That's my goal for January. :) Haha.