Health & Balance

Actress Emma Roberts on Friends, Books, and Well-Being

You are the spokesperson for the National "Drop Everything and Read" Day program. Why did you choose this cause?

I love reading. There is nothing better than having a good book that you can't put down, but nobody really reads much anymore. Everyone is moving so fast that they don't have the time to sit down and read a book. I just read the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and it is 100 times better and totally different than the movie. My mom always read to me before bed and when I was in second grade, I got obsessed with the Junie B. Jones series [by Barbara Park]. There are so many [of these books] that it took me most of second and third grade to read them all.

With actor Eric Roberts for a father and America's Sweetheart Julia Roberts for an aunt, you really do descend from Hollywood royalty. Was Julia Roberts a fun aunt? Do you read to her children?

She is very cool. Sometimes I read to [her children]. They like being read to.

Speaking of your aunt Julia, she is quite vocal about her environmental beliefs. How do you feel about going green?

I think it's really important, especially now. There are so many things to do that people choose not to do and it's frustrating. My family does a good job. We buy all organic foods. We recycle.

If you had to lose one of your five senses, which one would you choose to lose?

I guess I would have to say smell because I want to hear and see people and pick up things and touch them, but there are a lot of bad smells in this world.

If you could pick any one disease to eradicate forever, what would it be?

Cancer. It is such a huge thing that affects everyone. I know people who have had it and it would be great to find a cure.