What Do You Read?
October 21, 2008
I was thinking about this question today because, frankly, there's an interesting dichotomy in my reading.
Let's put it this way: the books that I gravitate to most, the ones I absolutely LOVE to read.
In theory, those are the ones you should write.
Now, having said that, when it comes to adult fiction, I'm definitely of the hard-boiled mystery/thriller category. I love PI novels and quasi-detectives like Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford or Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware. I love Sue Grafton and John Sandford, the PI novels of Robert B. Parker and Rick Riordan and Robert Crais, the cop novels of Michael Connelly.
I like but do not necessarily love spy novels (sorry Natasha) and I do, actually, love the somewhat un-categorizable novels of Dick Francis, which are mystery/thrillers that feature different characters, almost all related in odd ways to horse racing. But my favorite of his novels is "To The Hilt" where the main character is a painter (who usually paints pictures of golf courses, oddly enough), but gets involved in, among many things, a missing racehorse.
Anyway, it's clear to me that if I'm going to spend time writing adult fiction I might want to focus on a PI novel or cop novel. In fact, it's been years since I wrote a PI novel and I'm thinking, hmmmm....
But here's the dichotomy. SF aside (I don't love it, but I do read some of it), the other category I've been reading more of it YA or middle school grades books. And in those books, there's almost always a supernatural element or outright fantasy. Of course, Harry Potter, but also Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson novels (he's a demigod), and the Artemis Fowl books (definitely fantasy), and Ridley Pearson's Kingdom Keepers (Fantasy), and Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider novels (hard to categorize precisely, because Alex is a 14-year-old James Bond, essentially, but the stories are so Bondian outrageous they might as well be fantasies).
The point of this is to suggest that if you're puzzled as to what you should be writing, you could do worse than to study what authors you respond to the most, what it is you respond to about them, and then, well, go for it.
Which, now that I think about it, maybe I will. It HAS been a long time since I had a go at a PI novel...
Cheers,
Mark Terry
I was thinking about this question today because, frankly, there's an interesting dichotomy in my reading.
Let's put it this way: the books that I gravitate to most, the ones I absolutely LOVE to read.
In theory, those are the ones you should write.
Now, having said that, when it comes to adult fiction, I'm definitely of the hard-boiled mystery/thriller category. I love PI novels and quasi-detectives like Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford or Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware. I love Sue Grafton and John Sandford, the PI novels of Robert B. Parker and Rick Riordan and Robert Crais, the cop novels of Michael Connelly.
I like but do not necessarily love spy novels (sorry Natasha) and I do, actually, love the somewhat un-categorizable novels of Dick Francis, which are mystery/thrillers that feature different characters, almost all related in odd ways to horse racing. But my favorite of his novels is "To The Hilt" where the main character is a painter (who usually paints pictures of golf courses, oddly enough), but gets involved in, among many things, a missing racehorse.
Anyway, it's clear to me that if I'm going to spend time writing adult fiction I might want to focus on a PI novel or cop novel. In fact, it's been years since I wrote a PI novel and I'm thinking, hmmmm....
But here's the dichotomy. SF aside (I don't love it, but I do read some of it), the other category I've been reading more of it YA or middle school grades books. And in those books, there's almost always a supernatural element or outright fantasy. Of course, Harry Potter, but also Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson novels (he's a demigod), and the Artemis Fowl books (definitely fantasy), and Ridley Pearson's Kingdom Keepers (Fantasy), and Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider novels (hard to categorize precisely, because Alex is a 14-year-old James Bond, essentially, but the stories are so Bondian outrageous they might as well be fantasies).
The point of this is to suggest that if you're puzzled as to what you should be writing, you could do worse than to study what authors you respond to the most, what it is you respond to about them, and then, well, go for it.
Which, now that I think about it, maybe I will. It HAS been a long time since I had a go at a PI novel...
Cheers,
Mark Terry
posted by Mark Terry at 11:13 AM
9 Comments:
Fiction:
Romance: Paranormal romance, some YA romance, and some historical. Romantic suspense very occasionally.
Erotica: The twisted stuff.
Nonfiction:
lots of small business books and books on publishing lately.
I've been thinking of this lately, since I'm hoping to attempt a NY-able novel for NaNo. But sheesh. I can't determine a freaking pattern. It's so frustrating.
I love certain spy novels, but find many of them intolerably male and boring. I love Neil Gaiman. I love Laurell K. Hamilton. Janet Evanovich. Phillipa Gregory. John Irving. Marcus Sakey. Jason Pinter. Barry Eisler. Dickens, Bronte, D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Hardy, Charlaine Harris, Eric Mayer, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Rumi, Jeanine Frost. Erica's stuff. Yours. Some kinky stuff.
I've read all of that in the last year and I can't find a single gosh darn pattern. I don't know. *sigh* I would gladly give up the idea of writing a NY-able novel, if only it would freaking go away!
If I venture outside of physics . . . I read Neil Gaiman . . Margaret Atwood . . . revisit beloved books like Jane Eyre. Some memoir. Since I am toying with a Demon Baby book, some essayists like David Sedaris.
E
Oh Erica, don't tease us, the Demon Baby book is the true-life SuperFudge. The world needs it!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Crime fiction--everything from James Patterson to Cormac McCarthy.
And Stephen King. I'm currently reading Dumas Key, one of his newer ones, and enjoying it very much.
Wholesale lingerie directly from China?
As a famous brand and specialized manufacturer of sexy clothing in China. We supply the international market with fashionable sexy lingerie and sexy costume since 2002. With advanced technology,all our products are of high quality. Now we have clients all around the world. Lingerie Wholesale and OEM are welcomed!
As a Lingerie Manufacturer, Charmingirl has standard workshop and production line, professional designers and experienced workers.
We do Wholesale Underwear,
Lingerie Wholesale, including corset and bustier,
Sexy Lingerie Wholesale, including bikini, underwear
Lingerie Wholesale, and Babydolls, Sexy Lingerie Wholesale, and
Sexy Lingerie Wholesale including sleepwear,clubwear.
Lingerie Wholesale from China: Lingerie China, you will find the
Leather Lingerie and PVC Lingerie, also you can buy
Christmas Costume and Xmas Lingerie
for your Christmas Lingerie Christmas day.
Our Wholesale center: Sexy Lingerie Wholesale can do Lingerie Wholesale online.
Halloween Costume,
also wholesale Adult Costume with fashion Babydoll Babydoll, and bra and panties Bra and Panties, Sexy Uniform Sexy Uniform is also our major products.
we have strong ability on production, research and technology, advanced facilities that is imported fromGermany and Japan, now our monthly output is 100000 pcs.
buy wow gold
wow gold
buy wow gold
eve isk
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
warhammer gold
warhammer power leveling
bestchina traveland
UGG Cardy
UGG Classic Short
Tiffany Necklaces
But God wow gold is going to do wow gold it His own wow gold way. (Is. 33:8; 59:7; nike shoes Lev. 26:22) You rolex have put off buy wow gold the calamitous buy wow gold day and brought near buy wow gold a reign of terror. jordan shoes (Amos 6:3) There cartier is no Gad cheap wow gold damn tomorrow! cheap wow gold 8/14 Every one cheap wow gold of you probably sport shoes had Bush Nazis omega disabling your opponents! world of warcraft gold Whether they world of warcraft gold thraxed them, broke world of warcraft gold their bones, poisoned casual shoes them, or falsely rolex watches condemned them; cartier watches you have been omega watches chosen to represent replica watches the USA. (1 Peter wholesale watches 2:9) Is that the cheap watches United Sh*thead Army?
Post a Comment
<< Home