Books Q & A

>Q: What are you reading now?

Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy, Black
and Blue by Ian Rankin, Lost in a Good
Book by Jasper Fforde and, on audio,
Jazz: A History of America's Music by
Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns.

>Q: What are your favorite books?

This is a difficult question for me
because I read so many books I don't
take much time to reflect on them. And I
haven't read enough of the classics. I
used to list Jeffery Archer as a favorie
author and only discovered in recent
years how bad he is. I still list
Christopher Pike as a favorite because
his stories were so different and had a
big effect on me at the time. What the
hell has happened to him anyway?!
Now, my favorite author is Emma
Donoghue. Her books are great and her
writing has increased in quality with
each one. I especially recommend her
novels 'Hood' about an Irish woman
coming to terms with the sudden death of
her lover, and 'Slammerkin' which is the
story of how a girl survives in 1760's
London after being disowned by her mother.
However, the book that has resonated
most with me is 'A Sort of Homecoming'
by Robert Cremins because of the
protagonist's strained relationship with
his parents, his religion and his country.

>Q: What books did you think you would
hate but loved?

I agree with Alicia's feelings about
Lolita, though I don't usually begin
books I think I'll hate. I guess some of
the books I had to read in school were
surprisingly good - The Mayor of
Castorbridge by Thomas Hardy and Animal
Farm by George Orwell.

>Q: What books do you dislike most?

Badly written books. I read a lot of
mysteries. Sometimes they're enjoyable,
sometimes they're surprisingly
brilliant. Sometimes they're annoying.
Especially books by James Patterson. I
don't know why I felt compelled to read
several books of his even though I knew
the previous one had not only
disappointed me, but infuriated me. I
hate authors who put twists in their
books just for the sake of having
twists. Kind of how I feel about the
movies of M. Night Shyamalan.

>Q: What genres do you like?

In bookstores I gravitate towards the
mystery and suspense section first, then
literature and fiction, then horror. I
guess the vague Literature and Fiction
is my favorite - I love the books of
Nick Hornby, Louisa Luna, Stewart O'Nan,
Douglas Coupland, Richard Bach and more.

>Q: Do you most often read contemporary
works, older works, or both?

Most often contemporary. I'm trying to
make an effort to read older books. I
read 1984 recently and intend to work
back from there. I admire the classics
but I read for enjoyment and don't like
to have to struggle through books.

>Q: What are some of the funniest books
you've ever read?<

I enjoyed all the books I read by
Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Spike
Milligan and Kurt Vonnegut. Nick Hornby
and Dennis Lehane usually have quite
witty sections in otherwise serious
books. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is
supposedly a children's book but I
thought it was very funny. I also like
the Agnes Brown trilogy of Brendan
O'Carroll, and most of Colin Bateman's
books - especially Divorcing Jack and
Empire State. Chuck Palahniuk's Choke
was dark but hilarious - I'm looking
forward to reading more by him.
Chocolate Jesus by Stephan Jaramillo was
pretty good. I loved Sue Townsend's
Adrian Mole diaries, and Helen
Fielding's Bridget Jones diaries and
Sophie Kinsella's Shopoholic books.
One of the funniest books I read last
year was Big Trouble by Dave Barry. Bill
Bryson is great too. Crum by Lee Maynard
is the funniest book about West Virginia
and McCarthy's Bar by Pete McCarthy is
the funniest book about Ireland. In my
opinion.

>Q: What books have made you cry?

I don't think I've actually cried while
reading in recent years but Slammerkin
by Emma Donoghue, A Sort of Homecoming
by Robert Cremins and Grace notes by
Bernard MacLaverty all brought tears to
my eyes.

>Q: What books have changed your mind
or influenced your life?<

Superfudge by Judy Bloom taught me
there's no such thing as Santa Claus.
The Bridge Across Forever by Richard
Bach taught me that love is worth
risking anything. The Bible taught me
that the God of Christianity is often
horrific. Gilfriend in a Coma by Douglas
Coupland taught me to question. Heidi by
Johanna Spyri taught me to read for
enjoyment. The Dead by James Joyes
taught me that I could enjoy literature.
Last Train to Memphis and Carless Love
by Peter Guralnick taught me that Elvis
Presley was more than a little fucked up.

>Q: What books have echoed or confirmed
your thoughts and beliefs?

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Prozac
Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel taught me
that life is a tale told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury, signifying
nothing. Shakespeare's Hamlet taught me
that there are more things between Earth
and Heaven than are dreamt of in our
philosophy.

>Q: What books do you consider most
underrated?

I think the suspense genre gets a bad
rap. There are some brilliantly written
books in this genre, especially those by
Dennis Lehane, John Connolly, Stephen
Dobyns, Ruth Rendell and P.D. James.


>Q: What books do you consider most
overrated?

Recent 'acclaimed' books like The
Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, The
Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer,
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.


>Q: What books have you changed your
mind about?<

Well, I no longer want to read Sweet
Valey books, or anything by Jeffery
Archer, but I think that's called
growing up :)

>Q: How many books do you own (books of
all kinds, including cookbooks,
>manuals, your own journals, etc.)?


Over 200, don't know exactly.


>Q: How many books are you generally
reading through at one time?


Three or four, and I sometimes put books
I'm reading 'on hiatus' to start
something else. So I'm currently
actively reading 3 books, have 2 on
hiatus, and quite a few that I'm in the
middle of and intend to get back to.

>Q: Do you often read in bed?

It's the only place I can read at home,
because in other rooms I'm distracted by
the Tv or the computer.


>Q: Do you often read while walking,
and do people give you a hard time
about it?<

I used to. Some of my best memories are
summer days walking along the road
reading. Now I listen to audiobooks when
I'm walking or taking the bus.


>Q: Do you ever read while riding?
(Bike or horse)


No. Ce n'est pas possible?


>Q: Do you ever read while driving?


No, but I do read while riding in cars.


>Q: Do you and your family or friends
read aloud to each other?<

I once read to Vic over the phone, and
sometimes have recorded myself reading
stories, but in general, no.

>Q: What book was the most difficult to
read?

Joyce's Ulysses - I got it from the
library, and it's simply not a book you
can read within a month.

>Q: Do you more often buy new or used
books?

Used - it just makes sense to me. I can
get 2 or 3 used books for the same price
as one new book, so why waste money.


>Q: What is the first book you remember
reading?

Heidi by Johanna Spyri - I was around 5
so it was an abridged edition.


>Q: What is the first book you remember
having read to you?


Sadly none, until I discovered
audiobooks. One of the first audiobooks
I remember hearing was Tess of the
d’Urbervilles By Thomas Hardy.


>Q: What was the best textbook you ever
read?

I liked some of the poetry and prose
anthologies we used in English class,
but can't remember the titles.

>Q: What books would be good to have
around for guests to read while staying
with you?<

Short story collections!

>Q: What books do you often re-read?

I have re-read very few books so far in
my life. Sati by Christopher Pike, Every
dead Thing by John Connolly, A Sort of
Homecoming and Send in the Devils, both
by Robert Cremins. Maybe as the quality
of my reading material increases, I'll
re-read more books.

>Q: What books did you think you'd like
but hated?

Neverwhere and American Gods by Neil
Gaiman, Christopher Pike's last book (4
years ago!) The Grave, and various Irish
books by Anne Enright, Pauline McGlynn,
Kate Thompson, and Marian Keyes. Homesickness sometimes leads me to bad books.

This was fun!