Thank you to my guests in this series, especially for answering my first question. I can’t think of any writer who would willingly just save one book!
I conclude with contributions from Bridge House Publishing/Cafelit colleagues, discover what two fine Scottish crime writers would save if push came to shove (that’s an apt expression given what they write!), and will finally answer the questions myself.
First is Gail Aldwin, fellow flash fiction writer. Her recently published The String Games was nominated for The People’s Book Prize and her Paisley Shirt flash fiction collection is part of the Chapeltown Books series of single author collections, which included my From Light to Dark and Back Again.
1. What is your favourite book and why?
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. This novel includes such delicious, sensory writing it exemplifies the quote from Maya Angelou: I’ve learned that people will forget what you’ve said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
2. What does reading mean to you?
Reading is a friend to spend time with on warm summer days or chilly winter evenings. It offers respite in a world of frenzy. It’s a lifeline.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
Reading and writing are interdependent. If there were no readers what would be the point of writing? I find reading is essential to develop my craft as a writer. A study of classic and contemporary novels builds my skills and confidence to aim high and try to make my stories the best they can be.
Allison
Is there anyone who just “starts writing”? I think not. Behind it is the love of stories that inspire us to write. Now for another Cafelit colleague, one from over the pond – Jim Bates. Do check out his lovely fiction.
1. What is your favourite book and why?
I would choose To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I like that it is written from the perspective of the young girl, Scout, who is six when the book begins and nearly nine at its conclusion. Through her we see life in a small town in the South in the 1930s, the quaintness along with the close-minded attitudes of some of the townspeople.
I love to imagine the simpler life back then, nights on the front porch swing sipping lemonade and talking, being close with family. She plays with her older brother, Jem, gets into trouble with her next door neighbour and learns many lessons from her father, Atticus, an attorney. I also like the fact the author doesn’t sugar coat the horrible prejudices that exist in her town.
The book’s focal point is the trial of a black man accused of a horrible crime. Atticus defends him and this allows for many discussions between Atticus and Scout about prejudice, good and evil, sticking up for what is right, and accepting the consequences of one’s actions. These discussions are handled brilliantly. One of the discussions results in the title. Atticus says to Scout mockingbirds don’t do anything but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill them.
I could read this book time and time again and still find something new to appreciate.
2. What does reading mean to you?
Reading means A LOT. It is one of my main forms of entertainment. It started with my mom signing me up for a book club. One of the first books I received was on Greek Mythology. I fell in love with the stories. They fuelled my imagination. I remember reading and re-reading Tom Sawyer as a youngster, imagining living in a small town on the Mississippi, playing on the river, exploring caves, and being a kid in a simpler time.
I average reading 40-50 books a year. Years ago I only read books set in the US because I felt I couldn’t relate to any stories taking place in a different country, let alone another time frame. Boy, am I glad my eyes were opened by a friend who pointed out what I was missing. (Let’s start with PG Wodehouse and go from there.)
I love to encourage others to read. On our street we have set up a Little Library which is an attractive box on a post we stock with books for people to borrow (and, hopefully, return). They are encouraged to drop off their books to share with others. It’s very popular.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
Reading has exposed me to different styles of writing. I love how James Lee Burke describes a sunset. I appreciate how in depth Lauren Acampura can get with inner thoughts. I like how Bryn Greenwood writes seemingly effortlessly, like she is sitting next to me. I like T.R. Pearson, A Short History of a Small Place, for creativity, Anne Tyler (any book) for her in-depth understanding of families, and I like Tana French for her ability to tell a story on different levels with many interconnecting characters.
I don’t want to be or imitate those authors but their excellent writing gives me something to emulate, a bar that’s set, to reach for. I don’t care if I ever get there. As they say, “The journey is the important thing”.
Allison
P.G. Wodehouse wrote sublime prose. To write 91 books (to say nothing of his contributions to musical theatre) is something special. And I love the Little Libraries idea. I read To Kill A Mockingbird at secondary school. I’ve not read it since. This isn’t deliberate but the anger I felt at the injustice in the book has remained with me to this day. Fiction, when done well, can impact people for life.
Now to Paula Readman. Check out her excellent stories on Cafelit and, like me, she will have two stories published in the forthcoming The Best of Cafelit 8. We will also both have stories in Bridge House Publishing’s annual anthology for 2019 called Nativity, again due out in December.
1. What is your favourite book and why?
My favourite book may seem odd, but when you learn I taught myself how to write to be published from books, you will have a better understanding. My husband purchased the books I wanted off Ebay. Out of all the books I asked for I found this one the most helpful. Getting the Words Right: How to revise, Edit & Rewrite. By Theodore A. Rees Cheney.
2. What does reading mean to you?
Reading has given me the opportunity to further my education without the expense of writing courses, which I couldn’t afford. I know self-education has its limitations, but there is a huge market of great second-hand books available online, as well as affordable new ones.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
Reading fiction gives me an insight into how others handle situations and emotions on the page. If I’m moved by a story or plotline I try to work out whether it was how it was written or was it the words used.
Reading nonfiction books on How to write obviously helps you develop all areas of your writing as there are many books written by bestselling authors like Stephen King etc.
Getting the Words Right by Theodore A. Rees Cheney helped me understand how powerful editing can be by showing me how to get my story across to my reader clearly by trimming weak or unnecessary words. Out of all the 250 books, I read on ‘how to’ write this one book made the biggest impact.
Allison
I list Stephen King’s On Writing as one of my favourite writing books (and it works well “just” as a memoir).
Now to Scottish crime writer, and colleague from The Association of Christian Writers, Wendy H. Jones.
Wendy H. Jones is the award winning author of the DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries, The Fergus and Flora Mysteries and the Bertie the Buffalo children’s picture book, as well as two books for authors. As webmaster for the Association of Christian Writers she edited two books for Lent and Christmas. She is both the President of the Scottish Association of Writers and the Secretary for the Society of Authors in Scotland, as well as presenting the radio show Wendy’s Book Buzz on Mearns FM.
1. What is your favourite book and why?
It would need to be The Complete Sherlock Holmes. I appreciate that is several books but they can be bought in one volume. Sherlock is the quintessential detective and these works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle demonstrate storytelling and mystery at its best.
Not only do I use it for pleasure (I always find something new), it can also be used as a writing guide and a guide on how to plot a mystery. Conan Doyle’s use of clues and red herrings is superb. His characterisation, where the main character can be both flawed and a genius, should be used as a study by all writers. This book ticks a lot of boxes, plus it’s huge so it’s a definite advantage if you have to save it from a disaster or you were on the often discussed desert island.
2. What does reading mean to you?
Reading is not just a passion and pleasure but life and breath. I have been reading since I was three and I cannot imagine life without it. It opens up new worlds, teaches new things, allows me to experience life, helps me to grow as a person, and means I am never bored. I travel a lot and the thought of waiting for planes or trains or even being on these, without a book, fills me with dread. No matter what the circumstances books are constant.
Reading also opens up conversations. I was on a cruise recently where at mealtimes I was sitting with new people every day. Asking the questions, do you like reading and what are you reading, led to some fascinating conversations and great book recommendations.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
I believe in order to be a writer, you first have to be a reader. Not just reading widely in your own genre, which is a given, but also in other genres. Reading helps the writer to develop use of language, the skill of story structure, to know the rules, to know when to break them, to know how to break them with panache, and the tropes of specific genres.
I read many mysteries, both adult and young adult. This has shown me the specific rules in that genre. When I was asked to write a children’s picture book, I bought many picture books and read them through numerous times. This helped me develop the art of writing for children, which is so different from writing for adults.
At the moment I am reading the Library of Forgotten Books. Not only are these beautifully, evocative books, the use of language is exquisite. This is teaching me how words can be used to great effect. As writers, every time we read a book we are learning. We should be learning all the time. Reading books is a chance for writers to hone our craft and to become better.
Allison
Love Sherlock Holmes. I have the Complete Works too. What is fascinating about the Holmes stories is seeing how developed the characterisation is for when the books were written. We are used to seeing/reading characters with major flaws (indeed we expect them) but Conan Doyle did so much to get that literary ball rolling!
Now over to fellow Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, who like me regularly attends the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School.
Incidentally Wendy’s DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries are set in Dundee. Val’s Hunter Wilson novels are set in Edinburgh. Location can be used almost as a character. (Colin Dexter did the same with his Inspector Morse novels based in Oxford).
1. What is your favourite book and why?
This is probably the toughest question for an avid reader! I would choose the book of prose poetry, The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran. It is a book of 26 prose poetry fables written in English by the Lebanese-American Christian poet and writer Kahlil Gibran.
It was originally published in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf and is undoubtedly Gibran’s best known work. The book’s 26 prose poems are written as if they are delivered by a wise man, Al Mustapha. He is about to set sail for his homeland after 12 years in exile on a fictional island. As he prepares to go the people of the island ask him to share his wisdom on the big questions of life including love, family, work and death.
Gibran believed both the amazing and ugly aspects of life on Earth must be embraced for each individual to gain knowledge, truth and harmony within themselves and with others. It is a soothing, mindful book I often return to and reflect upon.
2. What does reading mean to you?
To me, reading is the greatest gift after sight and speech. It allows me to share information and views with others. When I read I can escape to faraway places or imaginary worlds. Reading can provide the company of characters when I am alone and the quiet of solitude when life is too busy.
One of the great things my husband and I like to do on vacation is we each choose two books. We read our own and then swap. He has introduced me to Lee Child and Bernard Cornwell while I have lent him books by Peter Robinson and Linwood Barclay. It is fun to share favourite books and discuss the novels.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
When I teach writing, I always say the first thing a good writer should do is read, voraciously and widely. Authors should not confine themselves to their genre but read anything and everything – from the side of the cornflakes packet at breakfast to quality newspapers, trashy magazines, classic novels, Shakespeare plays, and modern short stories.
It is important to make sure you, as a writer, are exposed to different styles of writing and uses of language. It is also critical to read non-fiction as well as fiction so you have a rounded view of the world.
I read a great deal of crime fiction which is the genre that I write. But I also read widely in other disciplines. I have recently enjoyed the historical saga The House of Grace by Patricia M Osbourne, the non-fiction book Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, and re-read Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Each entertained me, but also exposed me to different uses of language. I hope that will make my novels more interesting to my readers.
Reading provides me with great joy and much interest. Also, news stories can provide fascinating ideas and backgrounds for my novels!
Allison
My favourite way to enjoy Shakespeare is by watching a National Theatre Live production of his plays!
Now to quiz myself.
1. What is your favourite book and why?
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice introduced me to irony in fiction. It is the blueprint for a genre that isn’t easy to get right – romantic comedy. I love how Austen cuts priggish characters down to size.
There is more reality to this book than it is often given credit for. Entailing estates meant Mrs Bennett was right to worry about getting her daughters married and financially secure, given without a direct male heir, this was the only way to ensure her girls weren’t made homeless after Mr Bennett’s death. Mrs Bennett wasn’t just being silly!
Of course the book is wonderful to adapt. Anyone for Colin Firth as Mr Darcy? Yes, I thought so…. But for me the book reigns supreme.
2. What does reading mean to you?
Reading allows me to explore places I may not see directly. I can look at fantastical worlds and see how the characters reflect on our existence here.
I think it telling in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series the White Witch has ensured Narnia has permanent winter but no Christmas. That still makes me shiver – it is bleakness in a line.
Books reflect our lives but they can act as warnings. I see how characters behave in books and ponder whether I would make the same choices. Reading can also develop empathy.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
I like to work out what it is about a story that appeals the most and why. I can apply what I learn to my writing. You also learn the rhythm of the prose, how tensions rise and are resolved, and how characters come across. I learn how books work.
Related Posts:
https://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/celebrations-crackers-chapeltown-and-cafelit-london-2018/
https://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/the-frustrations-of-publishing/
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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This was such a fun series to be a part of Allison. I really enjoyed reading the perspectives of different authors and liked your comments at the end immensely. Well done!!
Many thanks, Jim. What has been fun has been finding out the wide range of books that would be saved. A great collection!
Pleased to see an appreciation of Sherlock Holmes, one of my favourites. I recently published an encyclopedia article on how non human animals think logically and draw conclusions. I pointed out that they reason similar to Holmes, and that both animals and the great sleuth never employed deductive arguments. But that should not count against these marvelous tales.
Many thanks, David. Yes, Sherlock is wonderful. Favourite depiction on TV? Definitely the Jeremy Brett version. Faithful to the stories. For me, that is key.
I’m delighted to appear on your post today, Allison. It’s great to read about the books that have influenced other writers.
Many thanks for taking part, Gail. I’ve enjoyed reading the wonderful insights into what reading has done for us all as writers and, between us, we have saved a wide and impressive selection of books.