Literary Maven Meme

Over at Shauna Roberts' blog(see link at the right) she posted a meme that I wanted to take a stab at. This will probably show how un-intellectual and poorly -read I am, but what the Hell, here goes:



1) What author do you own the most books by? Robert E.Howard.



2) What book do you own the most copies of? Kull, by Robert E. Howard



3) Did it bother you that both these questions ended with a preposition? No.



4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with? I don't think I'm in love with any fictional character, but I guess if I had to pick one, it would be Belit, title character of the story 'Queen of the Black Coast'...any gal who leads pirates and does a naked love dance for a guy she likes is OK in my book!



5) What book have you read the most times in your life(excluding children's picture books)? Hmmm...that's a tough one...probably something by Howard, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Thompson, My Brother Was An Only Child byJack Douglas, or Shadowland by Peter Straub.



6) What was your favorite book when you were 10 years old? It's hard to remember, but most likely Conan the Warrior, by Howard.



7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year? The Devil's Dominion by Anthony Masters...some good info, but very dry reading.



8) What is the best book you've read in the past year? A tie- Last Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko and The Cold Spot by Tom Piccarilli...fantasy/horror with an edge, and hard-boiled action, respectively.



9) If you could force everyone to read one book, what would it be? The collected Identity Crisis mini-series that Brad Meltzer wrote for DC Comics...it shows that comics can have adult, interesting stories, and it shows the human faces behind the masks.



10) Who deserves the win for the next Nobel Prize for literature? I haven't a clue...I'd give it to Charles Gramlich...not only because he's a helluva writer, but he also cooks a mean hamburger.



11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie? The Light At The End by Skipp and Spector. It's a violent vampire tale that takes the romanticsim that has infused the vampire genre since Rice's works and kicks it right in the ass. The book has many cinematic moments that would translate well to the big screen.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie? Hmmm...probably Shadowland by Peter Straub... I don't think a film could do it justice...maybe a miniseries, but even then, I don't know if it could capture the feel of the book.

13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character. Actually, I don't recall any dream based on any books...they've probably occured, but I can't think of any .

14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult? Probably an entry in the Destroyer book series.

15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read? Teach Yourself Norwegian , from the Teach Yourself collection.

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've ever seen? I've never attended a play by the Bard, but I have seen the film Tromeo and Juliet, which is the weirdest adaptation of his work , I'm pretty sure.

17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians? The French, I guess.

18) Roth or Updike? I've only read one book each by them , so a tie, I suppose.

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers? Never read Eggers, so Sedaris wins.

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer? Milton...Paradise Lost , man!

21) Austin or Elliot? Uh, neither?

22) What is the biggest, most embarrassing gap in your reading? Probably the classics, like Moby Dick , A Tale of Two Cities, books like that.

23) What is your favoirite novel? I'd have to say Hour of the Dragon by Howard...I also really like Shadowland by Straub, and Hexes by Tom Piccarilli.

24) Favorite play? Honestly, I don't have one.

25) Favorite poem? A Crown For a King by Howard ( see a pattern forming here?).

26) Favorite essay? Have to get back to you on this one.

27) Favorite short story? Beyond the Black River by (you guessed it) Howard.

28) Favorite work of non-fiction? The Lords of Chaos by Moynihan and Soderlind...it tells the tale of European Black Metal, and the suicides, murders, church burnings, and other events that surrounded the scene in its beginnings.

29) Favorite writers? Howard, Picarilli, Joe Bob Briggs, Clive Barker, Milton, to name a few.

30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today? There's several who could be nominees for this award, but I think Stephen King gets this one.

31) What is your desert island book? Man...I guess I'd have to say a Howard collection of some sort...probably The Ultimate Triumph, since it's illustrated by Frank Frazetta.

32) What are you reading now? I am , unfortunately, between books right now...have to get more!