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By the Book
Questions adapted from this interview/section in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/books/review/r-l-stine-by-the-book.html
Please copy-and-paste the below and then replace my answers with yours.
What books are currently on your nightstand?
Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood (the new James Bond novel to be authorised by the Fleming estate) and The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley, a late '70s detective novel of the "hardboiled" school. Also, The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley. It's a short novel about a rich white man who pays to spend the summer in a cage in the basement of a black man who is wary but needs the money. The white man wishes to atone for "crimes against humanity".
Who are your favourite writers — novelists, nonfiction writers, journalists, poets — working today?
I don't read a lot of new fiction, though I've been dipping my toe. I'm certainly not aware of any working poets, although I do read poetry. Wait, I take that back, I am aware of Ocean Vuong. He's pretty good, although he does that thing where the poet indents the lines randomly, arranging them higgledy-piggledy (or so it seems to me). Also, Simon Armitage, now that I think about it.
I tend to dislike journalists unless they’re either witty or experts in a field, and too many seem to be just “some idiot living in London”. I rarely go a week without reading Caitlin Moran’s “Celebrity Watch” column in The Times, though. It’s a humorous listicle remarking on “the big stories”.
And your favourite writer of all time?
Flannery O'Connor. She opened my brain to the deep spiritual power of words, of text on a page to create a sense of deeper meaning in the universe, of life beyond life. I don't subscribe to her Roman Catholic beliefs or any particular religion, but she brings me closer to belief than just about any other writer. Plus, she uses violence in her narratives better than any other writer I've read, at least as I recall. She brings compassion and empathy to the lives of her characters which is profoundly rare. She's also a very funny writer, although I didn't really realise this when I was younger.
What are the best children’s books you read when you were a kid?
I was obsessed with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland when I was small and to everyone's bafflement would write my own versions on reams of paper that my great-granddad left me in his will. Looking back, like a lot of Victorian children's fiction, it's very arch and weird, even menacing. Sir Terry Pratchett was right when he talked about it being "creepy ... in a nasty, plonking, Victorian way". That's partly why I liked it so much, I suppose.
I also enjoyed Roald Dahl, whose children's books had a dark sense of humour that connected with me. I never liked anything too sweet.
And what are the best children’s books you’ve read as an adult?
The closest thing to a children's book that I've read recently is Pulp by Robin Talley, a lesbian coming-of-age novel about two teenage girls, one growing up in the 1950s and one present day. I normally can't stand coming-of-age fiction, as I find its vision of adolescence to be syrupy, formulated, melodramatic, and above all dishonest, doing a disservice to kids whose lives aren't filled with life-changing revelations. But Pulp was very good. Its evocation of what it was like to be gay during the "lavender scare" of America in the '50s is heart-breaking and suspenseful. It provides a happy ending, which is necessary for a novel that's aimed at teenagers, especially those from minority groups. But it's not a cheap happy ending.
As I recall, I've also read The Hunger Games, which was a fun thriller, and Wonder, about a boy with a facial deformity. The latter was a Christmas gift from my sister one year.
Who’s your favourite character from children’s literature? And your favourite literary character from the adult world?
The grandmother in Roald Dahl's The Witches. I always remember the description of her sitting in an armchair, leaving no room for even a mouse to squeak through. I can't really think of any literary characters from the adult world that I'd call a "favourite"... I'm tempted to plump for Tom Ripley, the forger and murderer of Patricia Highsmith's "Ripliad", but he's not exactly a role model!
What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
Georgette Heyer. She wrote and basically invented the genre of "Regency romance", meaning love stories set in a Jane Austen-esque world. Her books tend to be marketed very narrowly as women's romance fiction, of a "Mills&Boon" sort, which is a shame. When I was a teenager, I baulked at borrowing her from the library because her books were shelved in the romance carousels in the centre of the lobby, with love-heart stickers on their spines.
If you could require the leader of your country to read one book, what would it be?
I don't think I care what they read, but a book detailing class-based injustices might help.
You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?
Philip Larkin, Anne Sexton, and Stevie Smith. They all seem about as awkward and lacking in social graces as me.
Disappointing, overrated, just not good ...?
The James Bond continuation novels are rarely anything like as good as Fleming's originals, though, of course, that's the case with most continuations. In the past, I might have listed something like 50 Shades of Grey as just not good, but really bad culture is often fascinating to me. I still think that 50 Shades is really a dark psychological novel about an emotionally disturbed woman, drawn into a relationship with a billionaire psychopath.
What book hasn’t been written that you’d like to read?
I'd like to see more gay-oriented genre fiction, I guess.
Who would you want to write your life story?
Edgar Allan Poe
What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?
None. Reading shouldn't be about embarrassment.
What do you plan to read next?
The Mad Sculptor: The Maniac, the Model, and the Murder that Shook the Nation by Harold Schechter. True crime is an ignoble genre, especially of late, with the rise of those awful true crime podcasts filled with idiots gloating over human tragedy while pruning their eyelashes and causing distress to the survivors. But like most genres, it's capable of so much more. I still read it when the case described is either sufficiently mysterious or comes with an interesting historical context. The Mad Sculptor looks like it'll be the latter.
Please copy-and-paste the below and then replace my answers with yours.
What books are currently on your nightstand?
Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood (the new James Bond novel to be authorised by the Fleming estate) and The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley, a late '70s detective novel of the "hardboiled" school. Also, The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley. It's a short novel about a rich white man who pays to spend the summer in a cage in the basement of a black man who is wary but needs the money. The white man wishes to atone for "crimes against humanity".
Who are your favourite writers — novelists, nonfiction writers, journalists, poets — working today?
I don't read a lot of new fiction, though I've been dipping my toe. I'm certainly not aware of any working poets, although I do read poetry. Wait, I take that back, I am aware of Ocean Vuong. He's pretty good, although he does that thing where the poet indents the lines randomly, arranging them higgledy-piggledy (or so it seems to me). Also, Simon Armitage, now that I think about it.
I tend to dislike journalists unless they’re either witty or experts in a field, and too many seem to be just “some idiot living in London”. I rarely go a week without reading Caitlin Moran’s “Celebrity Watch” column in The Times, though. It’s a humorous listicle remarking on “the big stories”.
And your favourite writer of all time?
Flannery O'Connor. She opened my brain to the deep spiritual power of words, of text on a page to create a sense of deeper meaning in the universe, of life beyond life. I don't subscribe to her Roman Catholic beliefs or any particular religion, but she brings me closer to belief than just about any other writer. Plus, she uses violence in her narratives better than any other writer I've read, at least as I recall. She brings compassion and empathy to the lives of her characters which is profoundly rare. She's also a very funny writer, although I didn't really realise this when I was younger.
What are the best children’s books you read when you were a kid?
I was obsessed with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland when I was small and to everyone's bafflement would write my own versions on reams of paper that my great-granddad left me in his will. Looking back, like a lot of Victorian children's fiction, it's very arch and weird, even menacing. Sir Terry Pratchett was right when he talked about it being "creepy ... in a nasty, plonking, Victorian way". That's partly why I liked it so much, I suppose.
I also enjoyed Roald Dahl, whose children's books had a dark sense of humour that connected with me. I never liked anything too sweet.
And what are the best children’s books you’ve read as an adult?
The closest thing to a children's book that I've read recently is Pulp by Robin Talley, a lesbian coming-of-age novel about two teenage girls, one growing up in the 1950s and one present day. I normally can't stand coming-of-age fiction, as I find its vision of adolescence to be syrupy, formulated, melodramatic, and above all dishonest, doing a disservice to kids whose lives aren't filled with life-changing revelations. But Pulp was very good. Its evocation of what it was like to be gay during the "lavender scare" of America in the '50s is heart-breaking and suspenseful. It provides a happy ending, which is necessary for a novel that's aimed at teenagers, especially those from minority groups. But it's not a cheap happy ending.
As I recall, I've also read The Hunger Games, which was a fun thriller, and Wonder, about a boy with a facial deformity. The latter was a Christmas gift from my sister one year.
Who’s your favourite character from children’s literature? And your favourite literary character from the adult world?
The grandmother in Roald Dahl's The Witches. I always remember the description of her sitting in an armchair, leaving no room for even a mouse to squeak through. I can't really think of any literary characters from the adult world that I'd call a "favourite"... I'm tempted to plump for Tom Ripley, the forger and murderer of Patricia Highsmith's "Ripliad", but he's not exactly a role model!
What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
Georgette Heyer. She wrote and basically invented the genre of "Regency romance", meaning love stories set in a Jane Austen-esque world. Her books tend to be marketed very narrowly as women's romance fiction, of a "Mills&Boon" sort, which is a shame. When I was a teenager, I baulked at borrowing her from the library because her books were shelved in the romance carousels in the centre of the lobby, with love-heart stickers on their spines.
If you could require the leader of your country to read one book, what would it be?
I don't think I care what they read, but a book detailing class-based injustices might help.
You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?
Philip Larkin, Anne Sexton, and Stevie Smith. They all seem about as awkward and lacking in social graces as me.
Disappointing, overrated, just not good ...?
The James Bond continuation novels are rarely anything like as good as Fleming's originals, though, of course, that's the case with most continuations. In the past, I might have listed something like 50 Shades of Grey as just not good, but really bad culture is often fascinating to me. I still think that 50 Shades is really a dark psychological novel about an emotionally disturbed woman, drawn into a relationship with a billionaire psychopath.
What book hasn’t been written that you’d like to read?
I'd like to see more gay-oriented genre fiction, I guess.
Who would you want to write your life story?
Edgar Allan Poe
What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?
None. Reading shouldn't be about embarrassment.
What do you plan to read next?
The Mad Sculptor: The Maniac, the Model, and the Murder that Shook the Nation by Harold Schechter. True crime is an ignoble genre, especially of late, with the rise of those awful true crime podcasts filled with idiots gloating over human tragedy while pruning their eyelashes and causing distress to the survivors. But like most genres, it's capable of so much more. I still read it when the case described is either sufficiently mysterious or comes with an interesting historical context. The Mad Sculptor looks like it'll be the latter.
Anonymous
Nice one! Allowed me to wile away a few minutes, instead of writing on sole of me slipper with a biro.
What books are currently on your nightstand?
Nightstand? Aren’t they found in parlours or such? Autofellatio: A Memoir. James Maker. He was lead singer in Raymonde, who criminally only released one album, Babelogue, in the 19haties. They should have been bigger than Suede, but Brett and his boys had the pose and cheekbones. Oh, he’s also best friends with Morrissey…I know…I am nothing, but predictable. Been dipping into People of the Road: Irish Travellers (Mathias Oppersdorff). Updating the family tree thing. There is lineage of Irish Romany and hoping to unearth the odd serial killer or Celtic Romeo & Juliet.
Who are your favourite writers — novelists, nonfiction writers, journalists, poets — working today?
Couple of Welsh poets, Owen Sheers & S.W Rhydderch. I really enjoy the words of Rebecca Perry, but her output is sparse. Subscribe to a few literary magazines, so whoever ignites the old soul. The whole world seems to devour Simon Armitage (with good reason). He fronts a remarkably poignant band LYR.
Try to keep afloat with the latest releases of Ian McEwan, Toby Litt, Hanif Kureishi & Alan Bennett (though, sadly, doubtful if anything new will emerge post-dementia). Become a very lazy reader. Most days content with The Racing Post & The Catholic Herald (one of those is untrue).
And your favourite writer of all time?
Don’t really have a standalone favourite. Some books to take to library grave perhaps: Kes - Barry Hines. Loneliness of Long Distance Runner - Alan Sillitoe. The Collector - John Fowles. Bid Me to Live – H.D. Writing Home – Alan Bennett. Smile Please – Jean Rhys. Short stories of Katherine Mansfield.
What are the best children’s books you read when you were a kid?
We had very little (start those violins) but there were always books hanging around. Fiction was a beautiful escape for an incurably shy child. We had a wonderfully eccentric family friend (she smelt of biscuits & wore a hat which looked like dead ferrets had been arranged around her head) who bought me Wilde’s Fairy Tales for Xmas. Sobbed into my Donald Duck pyjamas for days. Not quite a moment of epiphany, but something defining.
And what are the best children’s books you’ve read as an adult?
‘Bring Me the Head of Harry Potter’ & ‘The Continuous Cremation of Bilbo Baggins’ were good imaginary reads. Louis Sachar’s Holes and I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill.
Who’s your favourite character from children’s literature? And your favourite literary character from the adult world?
William (the father) from Danny, The Champion Of The World (Roald Dahl). Would like to go shoplifting with Pinkie (Brighton Rock). Sarah Woodruff (The French Lieutenant’s Woman). “Her name is tragedy.” The archetypical mysteriously alluring woman of many Victorian novels. Characterised by her loneliness and being an outcast, as result of improper liaison with French lieutenant. Manipulative & rule breaker & single mother to an illegitimate child. Freedom to be her authentic self and control her own destiny.
What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
Readers Wives’ Almanac 1963-73. Fly Fishing by J.R. Hartley.
If you could require the leader of your country to read one book, what would it be?
If it was still Boris, Ten Easy Steps To Euthanasia.
You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?
Don’t do dinner parties, so an alcoholic picnic. Elizabeth Smart. Dorothy Edwards. Noddy & Big Ears (they count as one).
Disappointing, overrated, just not good ...?
I was a big fan of the band Sleeper and was quite excited when their lead singer Louise Wener branched into novels. Should have stuck to the mic & guitar. Respect anyone who ‘has a go’ to be candid.
What book hasn’t been written that you’d like to read?
Many clandestine writers & diarists deserve a published voice.
Who would you want to write your life story?
Carla Bruni
What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?
None.
What do you plan to read next?
I Wish Someone Were Waiting For Me Somewhere (stories) by Anna Gavalda.
What books are currently on your nightstand?
Nightstand? Aren’t they found in parlours or such? Autofellatio: A Memoir. James Maker. He was lead singer in Raymonde, who criminally only released one album, Babelogue, in the 19haties. They should have been bigger than Suede, but Brett and his boys had the pose and cheekbones. Oh, he’s also best friends with Morrissey…I know…I am nothing, but predictable. Been dipping into People of the Road: Irish Travellers (Mathias Oppersdorff). Updating the family tree thing. There is lineage of Irish Romany and hoping to unearth the odd serial killer or Celtic Romeo & Juliet.
Who are your favourite writers — novelists, nonfiction writers, journalists, poets — working today?
Couple of Welsh poets, Owen Sheers & S.W Rhydderch. I really enjoy the words of Rebecca Perry, but her output is sparse. Subscribe to a few literary magazines, so whoever ignites the old soul. The whole world seems to devour Simon Armitage (with good reason). He fronts a remarkably poignant band LYR.
Try to keep afloat with the latest releases of Ian McEwan, Toby Litt, Hanif Kureishi & Alan Bennett (though, sadly, doubtful if anything new will emerge post-dementia). Become a very lazy reader. Most days content with The Racing Post & The Catholic Herald (one of those is untrue).
And your favourite writer of all time?
Don’t really have a standalone favourite. Some books to take to library grave perhaps: Kes - Barry Hines. Loneliness of Long Distance Runner - Alan Sillitoe. The Collector - John Fowles. Bid Me to Live – H.D. Writing Home – Alan Bennett. Smile Please – Jean Rhys. Short stories of Katherine Mansfield.
What are the best children’s books you read when you were a kid?
We had very little (start those violins) but there were always books hanging around. Fiction was a beautiful escape for an incurably shy child. We had a wonderfully eccentric family friend (she smelt of biscuits & wore a hat which looked like dead ferrets had been arranged around her head) who bought me Wilde’s Fairy Tales for Xmas. Sobbed into my Donald Duck pyjamas for days. Not quite a moment of epiphany, but something defining.
And what are the best children’s books you’ve read as an adult?
‘Bring Me the Head of Harry Potter’ & ‘The Continuous Cremation of Bilbo Baggins’ were good imaginary reads. Louis Sachar’s Holes and I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill.
Who’s your favourite character from children’s literature? And your favourite literary character from the adult world?
William (the father) from Danny, The Champion Of The World (Roald Dahl). Would like to go shoplifting with Pinkie (Brighton Rock). Sarah Woodruff (The French Lieutenant’s Woman). “Her name is tragedy.” The archetypical mysteriously alluring woman of many Victorian novels. Characterised by her loneliness and being an outcast, as result of improper liaison with French lieutenant. Manipulative & rule breaker & single mother to an illegitimate child. Freedom to be her authentic self and control her own destiny.
What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
Readers Wives’ Almanac 1963-73. Fly Fishing by J.R. Hartley.
If you could require the leader of your country to read one book, what would it be?
If it was still Boris, Ten Easy Steps To Euthanasia.
You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?
Don’t do dinner parties, so an alcoholic picnic. Elizabeth Smart. Dorothy Edwards. Noddy & Big Ears (they count as one).
Disappointing, overrated, just not good ...?
I was a big fan of the band Sleeper and was quite excited when their lead singer Louise Wener branched into novels. Should have stuck to the mic & guitar. Respect anyone who ‘has a go’ to be candid.
What book hasn’t been written that you’d like to read?
Many clandestine writers & diarists deserve a published voice.
Who would you want to write your life story?
Carla Bruni
What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?
None.
What do you plan to read next?
I Wish Someone Were Waiting For Me Somewhere (stories) by Anna Gavalda.
Anonymous
<< post removed >>
Sorrie, ill have ter answer in small chunks
Ahavati had. This contest to write like Margaret Atwood,
So i started to read these free samples on kindle, theni ordered a bunch of used books off ebay. One nite i was primed up to actually write, but didnt, then the moment didnt return, alas.
Ahavati had. This contest to write like Margaret Atwood,
So i started to read these free samples on kindle, theni ordered a bunch of used books off ebay. One nite i was primed up to actually write, but didnt, then the moment didnt return, alas.
