Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
John Irving asked the screenwriter who adapted A Prayer for Owen Meany for film to change the title and the characters' names, because he felt the movie strayed too much from the original text and might mislead viewers. The movie is called Simon Birch (source).
John Irving kicks it old school when it comes to his writing – he hand writes all of his novels rather than typing them out (source).
Phil Jackson, coach of the LA Lakers, has given copies of A Prayer for Owen Meany to his entire team (we wonder if it was the whole "practicing the shot" bit?) (source).