Memes and Junk

(Stolen from Sophie’s World)Well, here’s another literary meme. No other introductions necessary. Here goes: 1) What author do you own the most books by?Probably Poul Anderson. It’s possible I own more of someone else’s books, but I doubt it. 2) What book do you own the most copies of?Either 1984 by George Orwell or Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Not sure why the last one, as that’s not really one of my favorites, but I have this thing for collecting multiple versions of the same classic. Or I did, anyway. 3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?Not really. I tend to not let things bother me much anymore. It makes life easier. Except for annoying people and the Republican Party (right now, anyway). 4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?I do quite like Pepper from Tobias Buckell’s work (Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, and Sly Mongoose), though, but there’s no love there. 5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?1984 by George Orwell. I think I’ve read it five times. I can’t remember, though. I used to read it once a year, but I stopped that. 6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?I have no clue. I don’t remember being ten years old. I have terrible memory. 7) What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?It would have to be The First Mother’s Fire by W. L. Hoffman. Could get past the first chapter, to be honest. The cover art was impressive though… 8) What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?Since this doesn’t designate publishing date, I can actually point to books that were written before 2008 that I read last year and loved. The best one? I think Spaceman Blues by Brian Francis Slattery takes the cake, although there were a lot of amazing books last year that I read, including Sly Mongoose by Tobias S. Buckell, The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse, Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale, and much more! 9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?I’m not sure. I don’t like forcing people to read books. I’m fond of The House of the Stag by Kage Baker right now, so I’d probably implore people to check that out. 10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?Not someone who wrote a bunch of boring books that nobody read. I don’t know who should win, though. Whoever it is, it should be an American, because the bastards at the Nobel committee are openly biased. Maybe Thomas Pynchon? 11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?If you could turn a Tobias S. Buckell book into a movie, I’d be happy with that. I think Ragamuffin or Sly Mongoose would translate best, to be honest. Crystal Rain is good, but I don’t think Hollywood movie-goers are smart enough to figure out that it’s actually a science fiction book set in a fantasy-ish setting. 12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?Anything by some author who has been dead for over a hundred years unless it’s Homer, or the folks who wrote Gilgamesh. I’m sick and tired of Jane Austen and yadda yadda. It’s old and overdone. 13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.The weirdest dream I can remember involved zombies, but that has nothing to do with a writer, book, or literary character, since I get most of my zombie inspiration from the movies. Still, the dreams are usually vivid right up until I wake up, and I always wake sweating and terrified, because it’s pretty intense in those zombie dreams. Oh, and I always end up leading mankind against the zombie armies and I assume we win… 14) What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Although, to be fair, that’s not really a lowbrow book, per se. 15) What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?I’m assuming this means a book that I liked enough to finish it. I’m not sure, to be honest. Looking back, I have to say A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess was one of the most difficult books I have ever read. It was interesting, but difficult. 16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?I’ve never seen a Shakespeare play. 17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?The Russians. Sorry to anyone who is French, but croissants aren’t enough to make you better than the French. 18) Roth or Updike?Haven’t read either, so I’m going to stay out of it. 19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?Same as above. 20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?Milton. I can’t understand Chaucer and Shakespeare is way overdone. 21) Austen or Eliot?Eliot, but I’m kind of tired of Austen. 22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?I don’t know if I have an embarrassing gap. I don’t read romance novels, mostly, particularly Harlequin romance. I guess the biggest gap that might be construed as embarrassing, or that I should be embarrassed about, is that I am not well read in the classics. That’s mostly because I really don’t like most of the classics. This has a lot to do with having the stuff crammed down my throat in high school. 23) What is your favorite novel?1984 by George Orwell 24) Play?Andorra by Max Frisch 25) Poem?Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats 26) Essay?Right now I’m really fond of “African-American Women’s History and the Metalanguage of Race” by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. 27) Short story?Call Me Joe by Poul Anderson 28) Work of nonfiction?I have no idea. 29) Who is your favorite writer?This implies that I’ve read multiple novels by the same author. Right now it’s Tobias S. Buckell, but I am also

I found this interesting meme and thought I would give it a shot. The object is to list twenty-five writers who have influenced you in some way. Everyone who wants to do this is tagged (and feel free to leave me a link in the comments, as I’d like to see your choices). Here goes (in no particular order):1. Philip K. DickHe may be the one writer who has had the most influence on me. His novels, short stories, and non-fiction have influenced not only my writing, but also my academic interests. PKD is, to put it simply, the man. I owe him a lot as far as my future career is concerned. If it wasn’t for him and Tananarive Due I don’t think I would be interested in the human in science fiction. 2. Tobias S. BuckellMr. Buckell has brought back that adventurous side in my writing interests, which is a good thing. Nothing wrong with a bit of adventure and badassery. 3. Salman RushdieI’m not actually a fan of Rushdie’s writing, or him as a person (I think he’s a tad too pretentious for my tastes). Still, his writing has had a tremendous influence on my style and he has opened a few doors academically, particularly into issues of history within literature (historical continuity, the consumption of history, and the fragmentation of history). So, while I may not read any more of his work unless I have to, I can at least say he has had discernible influence on me as a writer and as a student and future scholar. 4-5. George Orwell and Yevgeny ZamyatinI would say that Orwell single-handedly got me into science fiction. He was sort of the beginning for me. I love dystopian fiction as a result. Much like George Orwell, Zamyatin has strengthened by interest in dystopian fiction. He was an early influence to Orwell, so it’s understandable that I like him as well. 6. Richard A. KnaakOne of the first adult fantasy writers I ever read. He was one of the folks that first got me into writing, particularly fantasy, and, well, not much more can be said about that. I still like his books to this day and still remember how his works started getting me interested in reading for fun. 7. William HorwoodOne of the reasons I still love reading is because of Horwood. His Duncton Wood books were fascinating and stunning fantasy stories unlike any other. You should read his book too; his work is probably as original as you can get in the fantasy genre, considering that none of his characters are human. 8. Poul AndersonOne of the few folks who made me a lover of science fiction. “Call Me Joe” is probably the first science fiction story that I fell in love with. I’ve since resolved myself to collect all his books, because I want an entire Poul Anderson library! 9. J. R. R. TolkienI don’t think this one needs any explanation, to be honest. 10. Robert J. SawyerWhile not an influence because of his fiction writing, Sawyer has, through his discussions of science fiction and his relative popularity, offered a lot of hope in the field of science fiction. I’ve been inspired by a lot of what he has said about the genre and hope he will continue to be as popular as he is today. 11-14. Maurice G. Dantec, Richard Calder, Thomas Pynchon, and Brian Francis SlatteryThese folks are all relatively recent influences on me. Calder has primarily had influence on my writing style and content. I’ve become a bit more daring in both, taking up more “controversial” subject matter in some of my stories and altering my prose to be more, well, “literary” (in a good way, I hope). Dantec has had a similar influence.As for Pynchon, well I’m not an enormous Pynchon fan, but I have to admit that his writing style, along with several others mentioned here, has made me rethink how I write. The same can be said for Mr. Slattery, who wrote a fantastic novel called Spaceman Blues. 15-17. Isaac Asimov, William Gibson, and Orson Scott CardAs one of those big idea science fiction writers, Asimov has helped secure my interests in science fiction. Foundation was an incredible book.Gibson is, well, the unintentional creator of cyberpunk, which should be enough for anyone who has read more of my recent science fiction.Card has been instrumental in fostering my desire to be a professional writer. Not only have I enjoyed many of his books, but his book on writing was, for a long time, my Bible. I’m not sure if I would still be writing today if not for OSC. 18-20. Elizabeth Bear, Nalo Hopkinson, and Tananarive DueAll three of these authors have had an impact on my academic interests through their portrayals of the Other in their work. I’ve even written a few papers of one of Due’s short stories and I hope to do the same for Bear and Hopkinson in the future. 21-25. Karen Miller, James Clemens, Diane Duane, and Obert SkyeThese are some of the best fantasy writers I’ve read. Miller and Clemens have both inspired me as a writer and lover of fantasy, reminding me what good epic fantasy can be (The Innocent/Awakened Mage and Shadowfall are still some of my favorites today). Duane and Skye have kept me fascinated with YA fantasy and have inspired me to write my own series (well, two of them actually, one called The World in the Satin Bag and the other called The Mysterious House of Mr. Whim and the House of (Un)Desirables). 25. Dipesh Chakrabarty, Darko Suvin, Samuel R. Delany, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (and a lot of others)I’m putting these all in one primarily because they all have written on similar subjects (or at least subjects I am interested in) and have influenced me academically. Without these writers I don’t think I would have developed much in my academic career and I certainly wouldn’t

Here are a few more links. Enjoy: Nothing Sacred writes an interesting post about Lord of the Rings as a science fiction tale.  I don’t agree that it actually is science fiction, but the points he makes about why LOTR is important from an science fictional view certainly have merit. The Torch Online has a really cool list of the ten coolest moments in fantasy.  What do you think are some of the coolest moments in fantasy? Top Cultured has pictures of some really unique bookshelves.  I have no idea how useful a bookshelf shaped like a map of the U.S. will be, but it’s still cool. At risk of being hounded by Twilight fans, I must link to this list of reasons why Twilight sucks (it’s funny, give me a break). How about a literary rap of Macbeth?  See, now this is entertaining:  merging pop culture with plays written by dead white guys. Lastly, I give you steampunk Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter vs. the Punisher.  Need I say more? Oh, and a giveaway: Blood of the Muse has a copy of the Perfect Dark comic to give away. Thanks!