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Reading Questions and Answers
December 30th, 2018
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These questions come from christyotwisty [0]. I'll do my best to
answer them as other's have [1].
What is the first book you remember loving?
This is a little embarrassing now, since I've grown to discover
what a horrific little man the author is, but the first book and
series I grew to love was Vale of the Vole [2], book 10 in the
Xanth series by Piers Anthony. My dad brought it home one day
and I gave it a shot. It hooked me quick and sent me back to the
beginning of the series. I read a bunch of them before
graduating on to better fantasy books. It put a life-long love
of the genre into my blood.
What book/series would you like to see adapted to film?
The Wheel of Time has long been my answer to this. It's epic on
a scale that many series strive for and can't quite achieve.
It's part of the central canon of fantasy literature, love it or
hate it, and it's never been given a fair shot at the screen.
I would love to see it done well, but fear it as well.
Adaptations no longer belong to the author. They need to
maximize their medium and be the best they can be in that form.
This is why Dune is so hard to put on screen. The book is
philosophy and philosophy makes for terrible films. It causes
directors to over-use voice-over for internal thoughts. The
Wheel of Time would make for excellent on-screen action without
getting too lost in translation. Even so, will a film match the
story I love or will I be disgusted by the inevitable changes
that need to be made?
Who are your favourite protagonists?
I get deep satisfaction from characters that take a beating but
keep up the snark only to eventually do something epic. Harry
Dresden pops to mind as an example, as does Nona Grey from the
Book of the Ancestor series. Even Helen Harper's guilty pleasure
urban fantasy series "The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic" has such
a heroine in Ivy Wilde. Joe Bishop of the Expeditionary Force
takes his knocks and then starts inter-stellar civil wars. Nancy
A. Collins' Sonja Blue does it too.
While they may not share the snark, characters who endure
endless hardship with positivity, ingenuity, and resolve also
dig into my heart for all time. The hero of Hatchet and Julie of
the Wolves did that to me in middle school. And it's why my
favorite character from any book is still Jane Eyre. I mean...
the quotes!
"Do you think I am an automaton? — a machine without feelings?
and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my
lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you
think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am
soulless and heartless? You think wrong! — I have as much
soul as you — and full as much heart! And if God had gifted
me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as
hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I
am not talking to you now through the medium of custom,
conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit
that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed
through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal — as we
are!"
"I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless,
the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself."
Damn, son!
Who are your favourite antagonists?
The Baron Harkonnen in all his forms and genetic memory takes
it. He is brilliant and disgusting. Hannibal Lecter is delicious
too. Going old-school, Lady MacBeth was the first villain to
make me throw a book across a room (honorable mention to Iago).
Oh, and freakin' Mars itself in the Martian. It threw everything
it could at our hero, but took a swift sciencey kick to the
face.
What, so far, is the best book you've read this year?
The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1) by John Scalzi.
It's a lovely new sci-fi series that just release book #2. If
you're into Scalzi's stuff it doesn't disappoint. There's some
epic stuff, some really nice mysteries, and colorful characters
gallore. I hope it goes on and on.
Can you list three to five of your favourite authors?
Genre greats like Brandon Sanderson, Frank Herbert, Robert
Jordan, George R.R. Martin, Mary Stewart, and John Scalzi.
Classic literature is dominated by my girl Charlotte Bronte.
Poets like Mary Oliver, Christina Rosetti, and Elizabeth Barrett
Browning.
Why are they your favourite?
They create worlds where I can lose myself. They create
characters who I internalize and who become a part of me. And
they speak truth to my soul.
What are your least favourite genres to read?
Romance is a no-go to me. Same with whatever fluffy nonsense you
call Elin Hilderbrand's stuff. Horror is also not often on the
list. I don't find it scary, so it's mostly just gross or
depressing.
What was the last book you recommended to a friend?
Sebastien De Castell's "Traitor's Blade", book one of the
Greatcoats Series. When did I recommend it? Why, right now of
course. You should pick it up!
What is your favourite film adaptation of a book?
The Firm. It stands out as a fantastic example of the film being
better than the book. It doesn't happen often!
What books have you read the most times?
Dune, far and away. After that, Jane Eyre.
What fictional world or novel's setting would you like to live in?
That's such a tricky question. So many of the fantasy worlds
I read are amazing places, but horribly dangerous. Or they would
be awesome to live in if I had one of the magic powers. The same
goes for sci-fi series. If I weren't running out of air on
a runaway space station, it might be cool!
I've read a bunch of Star Trek novels, though, so I'm gonna take
the easy way out and say I'd like to live in the Federation.
Give me a future of peace where humanity struggles to improve
itself. (Side note, The Economics of Star Trek is also an
amazing book. Read that too.)
What are your favourite classic books?
Oh, I should have looked ahead at this list. Jane Eyre for
fiction, but I love a lot of others too. The classical reads of
stoicism, like Epictetus and Aurelius's stuff is special to me.
So is Summa Theologica, though I admit skimming large portions.
There's Martin Chuzzlewit and the Iliad, or Introduction to the
Devout Life. So many great reads.
What is the most recent book you didn't expect to like, yet did?
The Trumpet of Terror! It's a Choose Your Own Adventure book and
I picked it to read on my show because the cover looked awful,
but it turned out to be really well written.
If you could meet one author, living or dead, whom would it be?
Hmm, probably Frank Herbert. It's not a particular desire of
mine in general, but I'd like to know from his own mouth where
he wanted the series to go before his son butchered it.
What authors do you think more people should read?
Don't be afraid of classics. Most of them have stuck around for
a reason. :)
[0] Christina's Reading Questions
[1] Sloum's Answers
[2] Vale of the Vole
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