This week’s BTT is a series of 5 questions, listed below with my answers:
1. Do you have a favorite author?
Not to be too flip, but that’s kind of like asking a parent if they have a favorite child. Each child (author) is unique and while one might excel at one thing (genre A) another excels at something else (genre B). I certainly have favorite authors within genres but I can’t say I have only one child. Thus, I’ll cop out and do it by the numbers: Philip K. Dick, Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke. I
2. Have you read everything he or she has written?
If we’re talking books only, then I have for Vonnegut. I have yet to read all of the books and/or short story compilations of Dick and Clarke.
3. Did you LIKE everything?
No for all three. I thought Vonnegut’s last few novels were weak, but that might be impacted by the impact of his earlier novels on me. Dick’s last novels also leave something to be desired, in part due to his mental health issues. Clarke’s work also occasionally suffered when he succumbed to invitations to extend ideas beyond their useful life, such as 3001: The Final Odyssey.
4. How about a least favorite author?
This is probably blasphemy to many but I can’t stand Shakespeare. To move from blasphemy to genre-based prejudice, just pick the name of any author of harlequin romance.
5. An author you wanted to like, but didn’t?
Tom Wolfe.
Shakespeare “was a savage … who had some imagination.”
Voltaire, Dec. 4, 1765, letter
That is so funny! I like Shakespeare but I know it’s not for everyone. As for Harlequin romances, I whole-heartedly agree.