Mike's musings

Friday five

1. Fiction what kind, detective novels, historical stuff, thrillers, romance????
Sci-fi. I'm sorry, but we keep getting there. You don't need to suspend disbelief, and there's a certain amount of being allowed to avoid characterisation if you wish. But you get to explore opportunities, and ideas, and thoughts.

2. When you get a really good book do you read it all in one chunk or savour it slowly?
All in one chunk. I read desperately fast, and often need to go back and re-read books or parts of books to get the most from them.

3. Is there a book you keep returning to and why?
A few: Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson) and Snowcrash (also Neal Stephenson); Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen); the Harry Potter books (in English, Latin and French, which is a bit sad, of course) (J.K. Rowling); Emily Dickinson's complete works; George Herbert's complete works. And Coverdale's Psalter in the BCP. I went through a phase as a pre-teen to mid-teenager of re-reading the three Lord of the Rings books (J.R.R. Tolkein).

4. Apart from the Bible which non-fiction book has influenced you the most?
Stranger in a Strange Land (R.A. Heinlein). I went through a phase of reading all of his stuff, and it feels rather contrived and dated now, but "Stranger" made me think and be critical in a way I hadn't before.

5. Describe a perfect place to read. (could be anywhere!!!)
Half-way down the stairs in my parents' house in the sun. I just used to get a few steps down, and then stop and read. For hours.

Labels: books

# posted by MikeCamel @ 9:30 pm