Tuesday 20 July 2010

Book meme

I've got some time free today, so I thought I'd catch up on some book memes (all nicked off other blogs/sites). Feel free to join in, I'd love to see what your answers are.

What is your favourite:
Work of historical fiction?
The Love of Stones by Tobias Hill

Piece of comic writing?
Any of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books that has Gytha Ogg in it; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Work of poetry and/or book of poetry?
OMG, too difficult, too many! I recently re-read Mark Doty's My Alexandria, and got a lot more out of it than I did when I was eighteen.

Essay?
Lady Love Your Cunt by Germaine Greer

Science fiction novel?
Neverness by David Zindell, A Scanner Darkly By Phillip K. Dick, Rogue Planet by Greg Bear (which I think was a huge influence on James Cameron's Avatar); The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

Fantasy novel?
Any Tolkien; all Terry Pratchett; Robert Holdstock's Mythago Cycle is a big influence on my own writing

Romance novel?
Berta La Larga by Cuca Canals

Book about food?
Food For Free by Richard Mabey

Epistolary novel and/or novel in diary form?
Dracula by Bram Stoker (not too sure I've read many, to be honest. I loved Adrian Mole when I was a kid, but Sue Townsend's books about him being in his thirties are just plain boring)

Murder/crime novel?
Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite

Work of classic fiction ?
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, or Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Horror novel?
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, genuinely scares the hell out of me!

Biography or autobiography?
I'm not really one for biographies, but I did enjoy Mozart by Peter Gay (so much so that I bought Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life by Professor Robert Spaethling straight away)

Work of children's literature?
Harry Potter, obviously; Hobberdy Dick By Katharine M. Briggs; The Tree That Sat Down (and The River That Stood Still and The Mountain of Magic) by Beverley Nichols; The Hobbit (of course); I also love Rupert the Bear

Piece of young adult fiction?
I Am David by Anne Holm; Toby's Lie by Daniel Vilmure; The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick (the rest of the series is pretty damn good too)

Short story?
Ping by Samuel Beckett; Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad by M.R. James; Pastoralia by George Saunders

20th century novel?
Queer by William S. Burroughs, heartbreaking; The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things by JT Leroy (or whatever her real name is) - I don't care that she made it all up, her writing is superb, and I appreciate what she was trying to do. The whole JT Leroy literary scandal says a lot more about us as readers, than it does as her as a desperate writer. Think about it.

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