When people ask me what I like to read, I tell them, 'whatever I can get my hands on'. It's partly true. I'll try anything because pleasant surprises do exist and it's nice to try something new to break up reading habits. Better still, it's great to have those serendipitous moments when you discover an author who just has that certain something. The prime example for me is 'Rivers of London', a crime urban fantasy book that's created a few sequels I'm dying to read. Despite all of that, there are some genres out there I almost always ignore and some that I almost always pick up. There may be guys out there who love all genres, but I reckon for the most part, we have our pet hates. The readers who like everything are the lucky ones.
Criminally Apathetic
Crime. It's incredibly popular and not just in books. Look at how many murder mystery dramas feature on TV. Some one time only ones and some that run marathons in length. I guess we can't get enough of serial killers and urban domestics. True crime does interest me, but I still don't read up on it that much. I'm ignorant in this, I don't read crime so I don't know who is the go-to-guy for crime fiction, but there top names that spring to mind. Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, James Patterson and Agatha Christie, and the question I want answered is: what makes them different? When I think of crime, I just picture a detective (who is probably damaged and lonely and brilliant at his job), they visit a crime scene and solve it. I don't understand how the guts of crime stories work, nor can I immerse myself in crime investigation stories. I've no idea why crime doesn't interest me. However, there are two books that do. 'Rivers of London', as mentioned before is an urban fantasy crime book that has just enough police work in it to feel like crime, but so much character, humour and supernatural elements for me to forget this is a criminal investigation. It doesn't take itself too seriously and it's always quick to remind you that the two characters are wizards, not super-duper crime analysts with drinking problems. Then we have 'Child 44', a favourite book. The blurb caught my eyes instantly, set in Soviet Russia just before Stalin's death and loosely based off the real life Ukraine child-killer. One agent keen to find a killer the government refuse to believe exists. There's a film coming out too, which I won't watch.
Crime titles don't help my interest either. I'm picky with titles, I find it hard to start work without one I'm reasonably happy with. For me, they should leap out from the page and grab you, instead, I've seen loads that don't jump at all. But, it's a personal thing. Some like the simple ones, some like complicated ones. I can't quite explain what it is about them that grabs my attention, I don't know what I'm looking for until I see it. Mind you, that pretty much describes my bookshop browsing anyway. It's not just books, films too suffer from dreary titles that leave little to the imagination as do the posters. Plus, crime books seem to make a habit of using similar front covers. I'm reading 'The Silkworm' right now, and the cover features a man in a long coat walking away from the camera. I've seen loads of books with a similar theme. I wonder why they do it? Although, I'm halfway through 'The Silkworm', it's still not doing much for me. I'm not thinking about the book in between reads and I like none of the characters, then again that might be the idea considering it's about the parasites of London town who feed off tabloid headlines. I just don't like crime.
Crime titles don't help my interest either. I'm picky with titles, I find it hard to start work without one I'm reasonably happy with. For me, they should leap out from the page and grab you, instead, I've seen loads that don't jump at all. But, it's a personal thing. Some like the simple ones, some like complicated ones. I can't quite explain what it is about them that grabs my attention, I don't know what I'm looking for until I see it. Mind you, that pretty much describes my bookshop browsing anyway. It's not just books, films too suffer from dreary titles that leave little to the imagination as do the posters. Plus, crime books seem to make a habit of using similar front covers. I'm reading 'The Silkworm' right now, and the cover features a man in a long coat walking away from the camera. I've seen loads of books with a similar theme. I wonder why they do it? Although, I'm halfway through 'The Silkworm', it's still not doing much for me. I'm not thinking about the book in between reads and I like none of the characters, then again that might be the idea considering it's about the parasites of London town who feed off tabloid headlines. I just don't like crime.
In a Land of Make Belief
Urban fantasy, science-fiction and young adult fiction is what I love to read the most. I'll read anything in between anyway, but I'm all about make belief worlds. I love them for the same reasons I love video games like 'Halo', 'Destiny', 'Borderlands' and 'Dishonored'. Because they immerse the player in incredibly lively, believable universes that demand to be absorbed and explored. Then again, I love reading about make belief stories set in contemporary settings or in the past. Stephen King's '11.22.63' is a great example of science-fiction storytelling and despite its length, I couldn't put it down and I thought about the characters in between reads. Quite often when I'm milling around the stockroom at work, I'm thinking about made-up worlds and what characters might get up to. It's also where I think about my own work, until I get an order through my headset... If I look at my bookshelves, I see a divide between sci-fi/fantasy and ordinary fiction (would you call it literary fiction?) On one side I've got 'The Hunger Games' and 'American Gods' and on the other there is 'The Great Gatesby', 'The Catcher in the Rye' and 'Slaughterhouse 5'. Typically, sci-fi and YA is what I like most, but I'll try anything that isn't romance or crime. I'm open for anything, almost. Except crime and romance.
When my dad asks me what I'm reading at the moment, I'll say something like 'Halo: The Flood' and he'll ask what it's about. His expression of baffled wonder is priceless, 'why the hell is my son interested in that?' He's a football guy, not a reader. I'm interested because it's the future, it's the mind doing what it does best- thinking up new things. Once I've read something, I like to read something completely different. I read 'Halo: The Flood' and now I'm reading 'The Silkworm'. After that, I'll probably go for 'Whispers Under Ground', the third of the 'Rivers of London' books. It's like when I write, I start something completely different from the last. I couldn't read or write any other way, hence why I've got enormous respect for series writers and crime authors. I can't remain that committed to a genre or a massive story for that long.
I like jumping around.
Songs of the Week:
When my dad asks me what I'm reading at the moment, I'll say something like 'Halo: The Flood' and he'll ask what it's about. His expression of baffled wonder is priceless, 'why the hell is my son interested in that?' He's a football guy, not a reader. I'm interested because it's the future, it's the mind doing what it does best- thinking up new things. Once I've read something, I like to read something completely different. I read 'Halo: The Flood' and now I'm reading 'The Silkworm'. After that, I'll probably go for 'Whispers Under Ground', the third of the 'Rivers of London' books. It's like when I write, I start something completely different from the last. I couldn't read or write any other way, hence why I've got enormous respect for series writers and crime authors. I can't remain that committed to a genre or a massive story for that long.
I like jumping around.
Songs of the Week:
- 'Icipher' by Dark Tranquility
- 'Nothing to No One' by Dark Tranquility
- 'Empty Me' by Dark Tranquility
- 'Jesus of Suburbia' by Green Day
- 'Letterbomb' by Green Day
- 'Minor Turbulence' by Grand Theft Auto V Soundtrack
- 'Becoming a Legend' by Destiny Soundtrack
- 'Peril' by Halo 2 Soundtrack
- 'One Final Effort' by Halo 3 Soundtrack
- 'Shelter' by The XX
- 'The Black Market' by Rise Against
- 'Survive' by Rise Against
- 'A Slow Parade' by AA Bondy