My Book Challenge

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This is a challenge I’ve composed for myself. You can join in if you feel like it. Question: What is your favourite genre? Answer: I'm not faithful to a particular genre. At the moment I'd say it's intelligent contemporary fiction with thrilling plots and a quirky sense of humour. What I've never liked is what I call 'lament literature' about horrible childhoods and abuse. Angela's Ashes, A Child called It, The Room - go away! Apart from that I read virtually everything, from the text on the back of cornflake boxes to the latest Booker Prize winner. ____________________ Q: Do you read the classics, i.e., the great authors of the 18th and 19th century? A: Name them, I've read them. Had to at uni. But that's not the reason why I don't read them any more. I've found that their pace is too slow for me. Page after page of descriptions bore me. "Get to the point!" is what I want to tell them, but the authors don’t/didn’t listen to me. :-( ____________________ Q: Are you interested in thrillers? A: This is the genre I've read most of. I'd rather not know how many tons of thrillers I've read in my life. My interest has dwindled, though. Here the ratio of 'rotten apples' is quite high and money and time badly spent annoy me more nowadays than they did before. I still read and enjoy so-called capers, funny, bizarre stories which don't take things too seriously. _____________________ Q: What about horror stories? A: Never! I don't understand how people can enjoy horror in the shape of books or films; horror horrifies me and I need my sleep! _______________________ Q: Do you read Science Fiction? A: I've read all of Stanislaw Lem's books many years ago (the author of 'Solaris' which has been turned into a film). They fascinated me. A good Science Fiction story may be set in the future, but deals with the problems humankind has here and now. Yet now I prefer to read about humankind's problems dealt with in a realistic way and set in the here instead of in a parallel universe. ____________________ Q: Have you ever read and enjoyed biographies or autobiographies? A: I've tried to find out why I'm not interested in this genre, but to no avail. I'm just not interested. ______________________ Q: Do you remember any of the books you read and loved as a child? A: Oscar Wilde: The Canterville Ghost, Mark Twain: Tom Sawyer, Rudyard Kipling: The Jungle Books. Not a long list, but I didn't grow up in an English speaking country. It wouldn't make sense to mention German children's books here. ______________________ Q: Have you re-read these books as a grown-up? A: No, I'm afraid they may lose the magic charm I associate with them when I read them again with an analysing grown-up mind.  ______________________ Q: Is there a book of which you can say it has influenced you? A: No, there isn't *one* book, but I think I can say all the books I've read (except the trash [what can you get from a book with the title 'Wedding Night In A Hearse'?]) have influenced me somehow. They've become part of my subconscious. The fictional characters people my mind, some more, some less. Some disappear completely just like real people I've met. Some stay with me for a long time. _____________________ Q: Which are your favourite authors? A: There are many (not only those of the English tongue, of course). Let me just mention some names: Arundhati Roy, Zadie Smith, Alan Isler, Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Safran Foer. Read them, you won't regret it! ________________________ Q: Which book would you take with you on a desert island? A: How long would I have to stay there? What with my reading speed you'd have to rescue me after a week at the latest. Could I take the Encyclopaedia Britannica with me? I'm sure it contains enough reading matter even for a life sentence. _________________________ Q: What is your attitude towards translations? A: Even if you belong to a people whose mother tongue is *the* or one of the world languages, you shouldn't be so arrogant as to despise translations. If you don't want to live with a limited view of the world, you should either learn foreign languages or read translations as well. ______________________ Q: Do you buy your books/get them from the library/borrow them from friends/steal them? A: I buy most of my books at Amazon, preferably used if the offer is good. Occasionally I go to the library, but I can't take a book home with me which too many readers before me have already handled. They fill me with revulsion. Some friends share my taste and I exchange books with them (and write down their names, just in case. . . !) So far I haven't stolen any. ______________________ Q: When you buy books, do you prefer hardcover editions or paperbacks? A: Hardcover editions look nicer and age better, but the answer is: paperbacks. They're cheaper, don't need so much space on the shelves and can be better read in bed. I also own a Kindle now but that's a different topic. ______________________ Q: Have you ever tried Audio Books? A: No, they don't appeal to me, I like reading at my own pace. Should I ever have severe problems with my eyes (and I do hope that that never will be the case!) I would turn to them, but not before.