Mark Terry

Friday, January 26, 2007

Reading Meme

January 26, 2007
I borrowed this from Lynn Viehl's blog, but I'm modifying it for my own nefarious uses. Especially since I was originally going to write a post titled: WRITERS ARE FULL OF CRAPOLA.

Contemporary, Historical, or Paranormal?
Contemporary.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
I'm not picky. Any. My eyes are getting old, though, so I like hardbacks. But I'm published in trade, so who's to judge?

Connelly or Crais?
If I had to choose, I'd say Crais, but that's not a knock on Connelly.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Oh boy. Well, Amazon for convenience and a guarantee I'll actually find the book, but I prefer to wander a bookstore in a daze, getting surprised.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Borders is closer. We used to go B&N all the time until Borders opened up nearby--about 10 miles away. The nearest B&N is closer to 20 miles away in Rochester. I used to really like the dark wood thing at B&N, but now I like the lighter wood and feel at Borders.

Robert B. Parker or Sue Grafton?Jesus. Probably Parker, although I think Grafton's "I" is for Innocent is one of the best mysteries ever written.

First mystery novel you ever remember reading?
Something about the Happy Hollisters, probably. Even before Hardy Boys.

Alphabetize by author, alphabetize by title or random?
This one makes me laugh. Random, to say the least.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?It used to be keep, but I'm running out of room. Then I donated a few hundred to a nearby assisted living place. I reluctantly admit--hey, I was a book reviewer, so I would get mailed hundreds of books a year--that from time to time I've just tossed them. It pains me to say it.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
Remove it.

Douglas Preston or Lincoln Child?Ha! Trick question. They write books together. I love those. I also love their books they write separately. I would have said, after Child's "Utopia," that I preferred Child to Preston, but I loved "Tyrannosaur Canyon" by Preston just as much as I loved "Utopia." And Child's next solo novel comes out next week. I can't wait.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Chapter or section breaks when I run out of time. And I'm not sure that getting tired ever stops me from reading.

It was a dark and stormy night or Once upon a time?Geeze, gimme a break. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. C'mon, Charlie, which was it? The best or the worst? Make up your mind.

Dick Francis or John Sandford?
Apples and oranges.

Buy or Borrow?
Buy, almost always, unless the publisher sends me copies.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?
Gimme another break. Even though I wrote book reviews, that's not a big influence. Browse, more than anything.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?
Cliffhanger.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?
Yes.

Series or standalone?Series, but I'm appreciating more and more the difficulty for writers in maintaining them. On the other hand, a good standalone...

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
It's a toughie. Should I recommend Jeff Cohen's Aaron Tucker novels, like, "A Farewell to Legs" or a novel by Randy Wayne White like "Shark River" or one of Eric Mayer and Mary Reed's John the Eunuch novels, or "Private Wars" by Greg Rucka, or "Bad Guys" by Linwood Barclay. These are all people whose sales vary a lot--White is a bestseller, for instance--but who I think are either underappreciated or relatively unknown and should be a lot better known because they're great.

I'd love to hear your opinions.

Best,
Mark Terry

6 Comments:

Blogger Aimlesswriter said...

Contemporary, Historical, or Paranormal?
Yes to all

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
Paper or trade cause I can smoosh it up and put it in a purse or pocket

Connelly or Crais?
eh

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Amazon if I know what I'm looking for. Am I stupid if I ask what Brick & Mortar is?

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
I live at Barnes & Noble. I wish they would give me a cot so I wouldn't have to leave. Ours has a starbucks...what more do I need?

Robert B. Parker or Sue Grafton?Jesus.
Ok, you can shoot me on this. I liked Grafton till one of the main characters started having an affair with the other. Sorry, but I like my heros to have morals. This is silly I know, but I lost respect for the character at that point. I haven't picked up one of her books since. I can love the tortured soul just don't cheat on your wife. :~)

First mystery novel you ever remember reading?
Not sure--hey! I'm old, I can't remember back that far!

Alphabetize by author, alphabetize by title or random?
More like shove in bookcase, crammed under end tables, stacked beside my bed.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?
I keep the good ones. (and there are lot of good ones!)Give away to friends, the library or anyone who will take them.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
Remove it.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
When I fall asleep and the book drops from my hands.

It was a dark and stormy night or Once upon a time?
I love dark and stormy...wish I could start a book that way without the agent laughing me off her desk.

Buy or Borrow?
Buy, so I can bend it, fold it, spindle and mutilate. I also highlight good phrases.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?
All of the above and more

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?
Cliffhanger, tell me there's more to come.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?
Either reading, writing or sleeping when I'm not at that nasty place called work. If I'm not working the next day I drink a Pepsi around 8pm so I can stay up an write.

Series or standalone?
Love a good series

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
All time fav is the Talisman by King and Straub. An oldie but a goodie. Also love the language of Koontz. Man! Does that guy have an incredible vocabulary. (either that or a really good thesaurus!)

4:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"WRITERS ARE FULL OF CRAPOLA"

Well, of course we are, silly. You think we just sit around all day and make this shit up out of nothing?

I agree with most everything except Barnes & Noble. I'm a Borders girl through and through.

(And about Koontz: the first two years I wrote, I think I pressed the Shift + F7 key in Word at least once every paragraph, LOL.)

7:18 PM  
Blogger Aimlesswriter said...

Shift-F7 is a wonderful thing....

8:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I haven't been reading enough to do this meme. Although I do know that Sherlock Holmes (OK, mostly stories) fascinated me. The kids' mysteries like the Hardy Boys never grabbed me. I like Tom Swift Jr. Thanks for the mention!

Oh, best book no on ever heard of -- if you can get into the 1930s style puzzle mysteries-- Obelists Fly High by C. Daly King. Kind of a locked room mystery on a transcontinental plane flight, which was a very new sort of thing back then.

8:12 PM  
Blogger Rob Gregory Browne said...

Favorite book nobody's heard of?

Well, I wouldn't say nobody, but not too many people think of the books of Eugene Izzi, who committed suicide some years ago (or may have been murdered?).

Izzi's books are minor masterpieces of crime fiction.

6:25 AM  
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