Authors Meme
Jun
'08
I was tagged quite a while ago but I’m just now getting around to this… Actually, when I first realized I was tagged I looked over the questions and saw that I was going to have to put a lot of thought into them. Whenever anyone asks what my “favorite” is - whether it be authors, foods, books, songs, musicians, whatever - I have small anxiety attacks. Well, kind of. It’s impossible to choose, and I especially hate that phrase “of all time,” because that implies that for the rest of my life I will never find another author that even compares with this one. I find that pretty depressing.
So here I’ll give my best shot to this meme!
1. Who’s your all-time favorite author, and why?
Again I stress that “all-time favorite” is not a phrase that I ever have cause to use, but I will tell you my favorite author of the past couple of years. Actually, that’s pretty hard to choose. I generally don’t allow myself to define an author as a “favorite” until I have read and loved at least three of his/her books. It’s easy to have a “favorite book” - you only have to read it once to find out if that’s the case. But once you find yourself reading multiple books by the same author and really enjoying every one of them… Well, it’s safe to put that author in a “favorite” category.
In the past few years I’ve read a lot of books by a few single authors - Haruki Murakami, Bret Easton Ellis, Patrick Süskind. In fact, I’ve read every book by Patrick Süskind, even the ones that are hard to find; every book by Bret Easton Ellis… I’m finding pleasure in leisurely getting through Haruki Murakami’s books. So what’s my answer to this question, now that I’ve dawdled on about what I’ve been reading lately?
I would have to say Haruki Murakami. While Patrick Süskind’s books have a greater hold on me than most others, Marukami’s still shake to life something inside me every time I read one. When I first read Kafka on the Shore I immediately began collecting the author’s other books (I still don’t have all of them, though!). I felt like I knew I would enjoy them, and I was right… They require a lot of thought to get through them, but I have a better sense of myself when I’m done. (In any case, I’ve already addressed this topic.) And for that matter, given that I have at least seven more to read before I can say I’ve read them all… I am going to go ahead and foresee the possibility that Murakami will keep his position as my favorite author for quite a while…
Well, you see how hard this question was for me to answer now.
2. Who was your first favorite author, and why? Do you still consider him or her among your favorites?
My first favorite author was probably Dick Bruna, because I grew up with his board books and I still can’t get over how awesome they are. A bit later, though… Probably Roald Dahl, though I didn’t quite have the same strict rules then as I do now. I don’t think I ever read anything by him except Matilda, but I was greatly enamored with that book for most of my childhood. I haven’t read it in a few years (I believe the last time was high school, and even that was just to recount memories associated with the book), but I’m still in love with the story.
3. Who’s the most recent addition to your list of favorite authors, and why?
Most recent… Hm. Despite the fact that I define a favorite author as one who has written three or more books that I’ve enjoyed, that doesn’t always apply. I’ve been into JR Ward’s Blackdagger Brotherhood books, for example, and John Dunning’s Bookman mysteries. I’d count those more as favorite series rather than favorite authors; the authors do have other books available in other series (or genres, even) but I’m not jumping to read them the way I ecstatically read every Süskind book or went broke buying all of Murakami’s books.
Ray Bradbury is nearing the mark. I’ve only read two of his but I want to have babies with every one of his characters (no, not really). I suppose if I’m sticking to my rules, George MacDonald is my most recent favorite, but I already knew I would fall in love with him.
It’s strange to think of it in this way, but it seems that none of my favorite authors “became” my favorite authors… They already always were, but I didn’t know it until I read one line or got to know one certain character.
4. If someone asked you who your favorite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth? Are there any you’d add on a moment of further reflection?
I think I’ve already answered this in the first question… But upon further reflection, I’d probably add Kurt Vonnegut to the ranking. It’s hard to leave out JRR Tolkien since I spent much of my life obsessing over his books, but I can’t say that I see anything but memories when I look at those books.
5. Tagged:
Tagging the last five referrers, because it’s more fun that way! (Except, of course, those which have already done this meme, assuming of course it was posted recently.)
- Hev
- Christine
- Devourer of Books
- Dewey (also I love your new layout!)
- Fatima
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Thanks Michelle. Now I have to come up with favorites. I have just as much of a hard time as you do, lol. I love reading your memes. Hope you caught my Stewpot entry cause there was a list in there that was for you, lol.
Jun
'08
I answered your tag. Hee hee, though I doubt if my answers will surprise you any.
Jun
'08
Great answers! One of these days I’m going to have to check out that Murakami guy I keep hearing so much about. Oh and I totally agree about Ray Bradbury. He is marvelous! He was one of the first writers that got me interested in *prose* rather than just plot.
Jun
'08