[Meme] Books and Me

By Mick Bradley, on June 2nd, 2009

Mags White tagged me into this book-lover meme over on Facebook, and I’m going to post my response over there but I figured if i take the time to share stuff like this about myself, I should post it on the Monkey too. Plus, I know how much my pal Rich Rogers likes memes. I’m definitely tagging him on my Facebook post!

1) Which author has written the largest number of books you own?

If graphic novels count, then it’s either Neil Gaiman or Brian Michael Bendis. Otherwise, it is Terry Pratchett with Jim Butcher not far behind.

2) Of which book you do you own the most copies?

If I understand the question correctly, then it’s the Bible. If I had multiple copies of any other books, I’d give them away.

3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?

They DON’T end in prepositions, at least not as they were written when I pulled these questions out of Mags’ Facebook post and pasted them in here.

4) With which fictional character are you secretly in love?

If I told you that, it wouldn’t be a secret. Heh Heh. Actually, if I think about it, the fictional women I have had the longest relationships with and love best are Angua from Pratchett’s Discworld novels and Murphy from the Dresden Files stories. Hey, that’s odd. Both of them are cops. Oh, and I think I’ll be in love with Arya Stark once she is old enough to be in love with, assuming that ever occurs on the page.

5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding books read to children)?

I’m going to self-impose a limitation on this that requires my answer to include only books that I’ve read multiple times in their entirety. Because I’ve read portions of the Bible hundreds of times, and revisited portions of various textbooks and reference books many times. So to actually answer the question – Bard by Keith Taylor.

6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?

Plutarch’s Lives. I kid you not.

7) What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?

I hate to say this, because I love the author and most of his stories. But it has to be Expiration Date by Tim Powers.

8 ) What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch, with Fool by Christopher Moore a close second.

9) If you could force everyone seeing this to read one book, what would it be?

Force? I hope I would not ever have to force someone to read a good book. But I’ll play along and say that I’d strongly recommend either The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch or Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore.

10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?

What are the criteria? Does it have to be some sort of highbrow art-house literature thingie? I have no idea. How about Chad Underkoffler? Yeah, he’s my pick.

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

Unlike most of my peers, I don’t consider a book being made into a movie to be the official stamp of wonderfulness. To me, the best adaptation-style movies seem to be based on Disney theme park rides. There are many good movies based on books I love, but there are more bad movies based on books I love, and in any case, my imagination paints better pictures. But you know what? I just thought of one. I’d love to see the novelizations of the Star Wars prequels made into movies – as long as George Lucas had no creative hand in the movies whatsoever and they were written and directed by someone who appreciates character, nuance, irony, and depth, but can still bring the action. Like Christopher Nolan or Joss Whedon.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?

I think my answer to #11 probably used up my mindspace on this issue.

14) What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?

The word “lowbrow” seems very loaded, snobby, and overly subjective. But hey, I’ll go with Mindspring by Jay Lake.

15) What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?

Fiction: China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station. Non-fiction: The God Who May Be by Richard Kearney.

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?

The ones I’ve seen on stage have always been the non-obscure ones. The ones I’ve seen on screen are pretty much always the non-obscure ones, too. But if I’m allowed to include productions that I’ve been in (which is sort of like seeing them, just from a different perspective, right?) Then the most obscure one is The Tempest. I was in that twice. Is The Tempest considered obscure? I dunno.

22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?

I almost never read current or “classic” mainstream fiction, and that has been true my whole life. As a result, I lack experience with most of the big name authors and their buzzy works of literary wonder. I’m not particularly embarrassed by it though.

23) What is your favorite novel?

I’ve read too many wonderful stories to pick one. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards saga. Powers’ Last Call, Declare, and The Anubis Gates. Lawhead’s Arthurian cycle (the first three, anyhow). Night Watch, my favorite Discworld book thus far. Gaiman’s American Gods.

24) Play?

The Lion in Winter. My favorite to watch, my favorite to perform, my favorite movie based upon a play. (Geoffrey: “Why, you chivalraic bastard! As if the way one falls actually matters.” Richard: “When the fall is all that’s left, it matters.”)

25) Poem?

It is way too obvious to pick Yeats’ The Second Coming or Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle. But yeah, those are my favorites.

27) Short story?

The Hedge Knight by George R.R. Martin

28) Work of nonfiction?

Credo by William Sloane Coffin.

29) Who is your favorite writer?

Hmm. Terry Pratchett wins for a long glorious streak of consistency. Christopher Moore is poised to move into that realm in my heart, but I’ve only read two of his books thus far.

30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?

As a writer of screenplays – George Lucas. In terms of novelists … I haven’t actually read any of the ones that I often hear being called overrated, so it’d be unfair for me to jump on those wagons without direct experience.