One of the first questions I ask my writing students is 'who is your favourite author'? Perhaps it's an unfair question – it often throws them! But I think that if you write, you will take some of your best-loved writing with you into the process.
Writer or not, we should all stop to consider which author we love best, because it's not an easy question. In fact, I've broken it down, for this blogpost, into seven. Seven questions about your favourite author(s) might be easier than just one.
Number One: Who is your favourite Author?
Don't take too long to think about this; just blurt out the first writer that comes into your head – plenty of space below to change your mind! But, before you go on to question two, you might like to think why you love this author so much. Just one reason, off the top of your head.
For me, I've got to say Kazuo Ishiguro. I've read every novel he's written and practically cracked open champagne when he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is experimental, mystical and great with sympathetic characters. Every book is different, even in genre. He's so fantastic, I want everyone to appreciate him and I review some of his books here and here and here.
Number Two: Which is your favourite book?
Deciding this may show you that you actually have more than one favourite author; choose the book you love to read the most, regardless of whether it's by the author you've just chosen. Again, asking 'why' will give you some insight into your own reading habits. Remind yourself why you love it, and how many times you've read it.
I may not be alone when choosing Lord of the Rings. This is a landscape book, which takes you through many histories of many creatures, languages and mythologies. I've read it three or four times, but love to dip back in from time-to-time. Lovers of this book are lucky in that they can also indulge in 10 hours of Peter Jackson's 'director's cut' on DVD or streaming. As Tolkien writes; "He found himself wondering at times, especially in the Autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams. He began to say to himself 'Perhaps I shall cross the river myself one day.'…" Book 1, Chapter 2, pg. 66
Number Three: Who is your other favourite?
Let's be honest here, most people could not settle on an absolute favourite author. So why not have two favourites? Or three? Or more?
Or, like me, perhaps one cherished writer has been over-taken by another. Ishiguro published his first book in 1982. Before that, and for some years after, if you'd asked me which novelist I loved the most, the answer would have be unequivocal; Iris Murdoch. She was a tour-de-force in the literary world and is still revered. Read about my favourite novel of hers here; also check out the Iris Murdoch Appreciation page on Facebook.
Number Four Who's your other favourite author from childhood?
You may have already answered this question as questions one, two or three! Many people love the books they used to read with a torch under the bedclothes, perhaps dozens of times. I know which book I read the most when I was a kid, it was Alice in Wonderland. It changed as I grew, and then changed again when I read it to my children. Although it was not really written with children in mind, it has become a perennial favourite for children of six to a hundred and six!
Number Five: Who is your favourite in translation?
Bit of a trick question, because not many people read books that are not written in their own language. In the UK, we publish so many new novels in one year that you don't ever have to read books from other lands, let alone books translated from a foreign language. But doing so will widen everything you know about stories. Why not take a tip from author and TED speaker Ann Morgan, who runs the 'Read the World' blog site. She set herself a year-long challenge of reading a book from every country of the world. I'm way behind Ann, but my favourite recent reads includes Voices from Chernobyl by Russian writer Svetlana Alexievich, who I heard talk at the Hay on Wye literary festival, and two books by Danish writer Peter Høeg – Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne) and Borderliners (De måske egnede)/ Both are amazing novels.
Number Six: Who do you love from 2021?
It's true to say that we all have favourite novels from each year's reading, which then fade into a different perspective as the years roll along.Without a doubt, Piranesi, Susanna Clarke's second novel, is my best-loved this year. And she's now short-listed for the Women's Prize with this great story. You can hear her speak about it here and read my blogposts about her writing here and here.
Number Seven… What next? Asking questions yourself
Let's all keep reading new writers and new books. And as we read, let's try asking questions that help us both understand the books in our hands, and also the other authors we've loved in the past.
Keeping notes is a great idea so start with simple questions to yourself like these;
- What did you like best about this book?
- What did you like least about this book?
- What other books did this remind you of?
- Have you read other books by this author?
- Which characters in the book did you like best?
- Which characters did you like least? Why?
- Did someone recommend the book to you?
- If you were making a movie of this book, who would you cast?
- Choose a favourite quote from the book. Why did this quote stand out?
- What feelings did this book evoke for you?
- What did you think of the book’s length? If it’s too long, what would you cut? If too short, what would you add?
- What songs does this book make you think of?
- If you got the chance to ask the author of this book one question, what would it be?