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I “caught this” from Alan Baxter and if you’re reading this and have a blog, then you’re tagged too! It’s an interesting little interview and causes me to self-examine (which I am always a fan of!)
What author do you own the most books by?
For fiction, James Rollins, Paulo Coelho, Matthew Reilly, John Connolly
For non-fiction, Bill Bryson, Joe Vitale and I have a lot of Carl Jung.
What book do you own the most copies of?
The Success Principles – Jack Canfield. I have print and audiobooks.
(and the totally true answer: my own book “How to enjoy your job” as I still have copies of it!)
What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Currently Painter Crowe from James Rollins Sigma Force (or going girly for a minute – Jamie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series)
What book have you read more than any other?
Check out my video review here.
What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton, or maybe that was before 10. Certainly I read all of Nancy Drew.
What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
I don’t read bad books all the way through. If I can’t make it past the first chapter, then it’s all over! An over-rated book would be Gladwell’s “Outliers”. I’ve loved his other stuff, but I didn’t find much original stuff in this. Perhaps because I read so many psychology books and this pulled from them.
What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
I read so many books, it is hard to say what the best one is! I will certainly be posting here when I read a great book – so lately it has been Michael Pastore’s “50 benefits of ebooks” and also “How not to write a novel”
If you could tell everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
I’m back with Jack again – “The Success Principles”
Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer?
For a laugh, I’ve got to go with Chaucer vs. Shakespeare, but then I have a degree in theology so have an affinity with Milton.
Austen or Eliot?
What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Dickens probably. Just couldn’t get into him! I am a huge fan of fast, movie style fiction, so the slow lumbering is too much for me.
(don’t worry, I still love the classics – DH Lawrence The Rainbow is an inspiration for me – also Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy)
What is your favorite novel?
Tough one. There are so many, and most I recycle through the second-hand shops. One that never gets moved on is Umberto Eco ‘Foucault’s Pendulum’.
What is your favorite play?
Can we pick musicals? I’m going to have to go with The Lion King then! (remember this is fun – it doesn’t have to be literary masterpieces!)
If you want a serious play, the one that had the most effect on me was seeing Euripides ‘The Bacchae’ in the original Greek at night in an amphitheatre. Scary stuff!
What is your favorite poem?
I’m going with Ben Okri “Mental Fight”. This poem inspired me to leave my soul-sucking job in London and seek enlightenment in the Australian Outback. Here is one of his poems on YouTube.
What is your favorite non-fiction?
I am a non-fiction reader in general. I read a lot of self-help and success books. I love them! I have stacks of notebooks full of inspirational stuff from them. I also read psychology, travel, Middle Eastern politics, spirituality and religion as well as pop science. Some of my favourite authors include: Robert Winston, Bruce Chatwin, Steven Pinker, Joe Vitale, Michio Kaku, Karen Armstrong, Robert Fisk… an eclectic bunch!
What is your favorite science fiction?
‘Pixel Juice’ Jeff Noon
Who is the most over rated writer alive today?
Salman Rushdie. I can’t read any of his books. Have tried so many times because I feel I ought to. But I can’t make it through more than about 3 pages.
What are you reading right now?
I always have a few on the go. On the nightstand, “The God part of the Brain” by Matthew Alper, and “Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I am also listening to the podcast novel 7th Son by J.C. Hutchins.
Best Memoir?
Best History?
Robert Fisk – The Age of the Warrior
Best mystery or noir?
I like John Connolly for scary, supernatural thrillers.
(Guilty as charged. I did get rid of a few questions that I didn’t have interesting answers for.)
The original is here. Tell me when you post your answers!
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