Friday, July 22, 2011

Follow Friday (3)




Q. Name 3 authors that you would love to sit down and spend an hour or a meal with just talking about either their books or get advice on writing from?

Wow.  That is a great question--very difficult.  Only three?  Can't we have more?  Okay guess not.

My first instinct was to say Margaret Mitchell because reading Gone With the Wind in middle school was one one of those experiences that stick out to me--where I remember my love of reading really growing.  I could feel it as the story drew me in.  I had such a literary crush on Rhett Butler (who looked just like Clark Gable in my mind).  But I am not going to pick her because I have done a lot of reading about her.  She was an intensely private person and I really do not think she would open up much.  Then I thought of Harper Lee because who was not affected by reading To Kill A Mockingbird?  But the same trouble arose.  I have read about her, and in some ways she was even more private than Margaret Mitchell.  Or at least she tried to be.

So after all of that thinking and back tracking, I decided I would pick Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Maria V. Snyder.  Now that is a list that does not come together often.


I first encountered Jane Austen when I watched the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice.  The movie enchanted me.  I fell in love with Mr. Darcy (who will always look like Colin Firth in my mind).  I fell in love with Elizabeth.  I was hooked.  I house sat for my aunt one weekend and I seriously watched this movie three times in that weekend.

Then I read the book, and I was hooked again.  I could not decide which one I loved more, but I often had to get my Pride and Prejudice fix in one way or another to the point that I practically have both memorized.  And I still love it.  

Now I know it can be argued that Jane Austen was also an intensely private person, but I feel like that was more about her personal life.  She seemed to love to talk about her books and her writing, and what I would love to talk about is what inspired her characters because I think in many ways she created some of the most memorable characters in literature.

I do not tend to think of myself as a huge fan of crime novels, although I noticed that recently a lot of my reviews have fallen into that category.  But I think that is due in part to the fact that a good friend of mine recently turned me onto Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

I am currently working through his novels and stories one by one.  I have watched all of the Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.  I recently found a CD with the recording of the radio show with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.  And my netflix is full of different British movies and TV shows featuring Sherlock Holmes (or in one case the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Bell).

I have read some of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's history.  I know the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes was his mentor Dr. Bell.  What I would love to do is show Sir Arthur Conan Doyle some of the modern crime stories (real or fictional, television, movies or books) and ask What Would Sherlock Holmes do?  How would he adapt to modern tastes for crime drama?  Could he solve some of our criminal mysteries today?

I fell in love with Maria V. Snyder's work after reading the Poison Study series.  I do not have a large keeper shelf because I find that I do not re-read a lot of books.  But I could not bear to part with these books.  I have loaned them to everyone I know who likes to read, and each person has come back impressed.  These books really draw the reader in.  At least they did for me!

And what I really want to know is what/who was her inspiration for Valek and Yelena.  Okay--maybe a little more about Valek because he is a literary crush of mine.  I would also love to tell her that I want more of his story.  I found the short story online--and it was not nearly enough.  I want more.

I have also started collecting her other series so I can read them all--and I have not been disappointed once.  I love the way she draws the reader into the story.  And I would love to talk to her about her experience as a writer and learn more about the craft of writing from her.
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17 comments:

  1. Great picks! I love Jane Austen and I will always see Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy too! I'm a new follower. My answers are up at Coffee Table Reviews

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  2. I am glad you put in a classic author. It would be amazing to meet any of them. Have a great Friday. New Follower!

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  3. Those are great picks. I have Poison Study on my TBR shelf. Sounds like I need to move it up the list! New follower :)

    http://www.booksandbarks.com/2011/07/follow-friday-4.html

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  4. Great picks! I'd love to meet the authors you chose as well, even the ones you didn't choose. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my absolute favorite books. Have a good weekend :)

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  5. Hi there, I'm hopping through and following you.

    Have a great weekend!

    Holjo @ Pedantic Phooka
    www.pedanticphooka.com

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  6. Wow your answer made me realise that I went totally the wrong way with my answers! I went with the here and now, as in books I've read recently. Jane Austen HAS to be in my top ten dinner dates though :)

    http://littlechoo2-bookblogg.blogspot.com/

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  7. hi, hopping over to read your friday meme answers. as always Happy reading.
    http://sidnebkclubreviewz.blogspot.com

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  8. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm a new follower for you!

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  9. Hopping through. Great choices. I'd especially like to meet Harper and Jane Austen.
    My Hop

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  10. Cool! You are into the classics. I am hopping through and am a new follower. Please return the follow favor!

    My hopping post is here.

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  11. I'd love to meet Jane Austen too. I on.y picked people who are alive. I guess I wasn't thinking outside the box.
    Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend.

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  12. Thanks for dropping by @ We Fancy Books *waves*

    Following you now :)

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  13. Hi. Happy Belated FF from a new follower. Interesting choices. I think you're the first I've seen mention Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Nice!

    http://shikiharu.blogspot.com

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  14. I like your comments and choices. I'm impressed that you were able to read Gone With the Wind in middle school! Have you revisited it as an adult? I love it myself! And Conan Doyle. He would be fascinating, I think. I'm enjoying working my way through his stories. My husband insists I read all the Holmes stuff before reading the Holmes inspired stuff. New follower. Dawn @ Read Love

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  15. I have read Gone With the Wind since middle school and I loved it even more. I also read a couple of the biographies of Margaret Mitchell and was fascinated by how much of her life inspired GWTW. If I really thought she would talk about those things, I would love to go back in time and meet her. But she was so intensely private that she ordered her husband to destroy many of the drafts and notes on the manuscript upon her death.

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  16. Have you come across the recently published Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood ? Her desire for privacy is discussed in detail, especially the fact that she and her husband spent the rest of their lives after publishing GWTW defending their privacy and copyrights. (http://tinyurl.com/3cwd432)

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  17. I have not read that book. The books I read about Margaret Mitchell were Road to Tara (http://www.amazon.com/Road-Tara-Life-Margaret-Mitchell/dp/089919169X/ref=pd_sim_b_2) and John Marsh and Margaret Mitchell: The Love Story Behind Gone With The Wind (http://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Mitchell-John-Marsh-Behind/dp/1561456179/ref=pd_sim_b_1) I am going to look for that new on though. :)

    Yes they did spend a lot of time defending their privacy. Her husband was sick (I have heard that today he would probably be diagnosed as epileptic) and would get very embarrassed in public if his condition started to show. She was very protective of her husband and hated to put him in any situation that would later embarrass him.

    She was also very self-conscious about the fact that she based bits and pieces of Gone with the Wind on real people and real events that she heard the civil war veterans and their families talk about. Never enough that one person could come out and say she stole this or that, but enough that some people put pieces together.

    As you can tell--I love GWTW and I love her story, but with respect. I will read what is out there, but I don't think I could ever be her biographer. I just feel that what is out there is more than she ever wanted people to know--I would hate to try to dig up more.

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