Do you ever surprise yourself when you sit down to write a novel and the next thing you know another bear pops up? IRVING: I would say death of people you love and don't ever want to lose is probably more primary on that list. IRVING: Well, you know, that's a fair list of what I would call superficial details. Are there any others that are missing? We kind of imagine you there with a checklist, checking them off yourself as you went through it. SAGAL: The themes are, and these are the ones: New England, sex workers, wrestling, Vienna, bears, deadly accidents and absent parents are on the list. IRVING: Oh yeah, somebody sent that to me, actually. SAGAL: On the Wikipedia page, somebody has developed a chart of all of your novels and lists of themes and checkmarks for the theme. I don't know if you've ever looked at it. IRVING: Yeah, I only invited a few friends. I was, at the time, humiliated but I had a private celebration when I heard he died. SAGAL: Have you been trying to show him off ever since? And I was told by the college counselor that I had the lowest SAT scores in a 12-year history of the school.

SAGAL: My understanding is that you went to a prestigious school, Phillips Exeter Academy. I have a very poor record at multiple choice questions. John Irving, welcome to WAIT WAIT.DON'T TELL ME! His latest novel is called, 'In One Person,' and he joins us now. Author John Irving is the author of the classic novels 'The World According To Garp,' 'A Prayer for Owen Meany,' and 'The Cider House Rules,' among many others.

And now the game where somebody who's done impressive things does something else entirely.

John irving bears