Fun Fact Friday -- Writers are Readers, too.

 Happy Friday! Welcome to another Friday Fun Fact (or Your Morning Tidbit, if you're joining us from FB.)

I don't know about you, but I honestly don't know many writers. I used to know a few, back in the days when submitting work to publishers was done via snail mail, but I don't know many any more. Life happens and people drift. Sometimes, writers won't talk about their work to anyone in 'real' life, so you'll never know you actually know one. (If you are a writer reading this, hello! Let me know how your writing is going in a comment below!)

I do know a lot of readers, though. Readers always have five or six books they will not hesitate to tell you about. They will always have one to recommend in case you're looking. Readers also have a pile or list of books that they have every intention of reading. Readers get lost in books and lie to themselves all the time by saying, "Let me just finish this page" and "Last chapter, I promise." (Writers do this, too. "I'll start dinner just as soon as I get this thought out of my head. I promise.")

Books are awesome. They offer knowledge, they offer entertainment, and they offer other worlds. They are an escape, a mini-vacation, and a roller coaster. Reading a book is like meeting a new friend -- you like them, you hate them, you laugh, you cry, you glare at the book when it takes a turn you didn't think it should take, so you pour a glass of wine and take a drink as you decide you just *have* to know where it goes. And then sometimes you feel empty or lost when you finish reading it because you hoped there was more. Of course, if you're a series reader, you obsess over the story line until that coveted next novel comes out.

Being a Reader and a Writer often presents its own fascinating conundrum in which if you're reading someone else's book, you're not working on writing your own while if you're working on writing your own, you can't be reading all those awesome books you have piling up on your 'To Be Read' shelf.

As a writer, which authors have influenced you?

As everything we experience influences us in one way or another, I can't say that any author hasn't influenced me or the way I write. I love books I can "see" as I read, meaning for me it's like watching a video on a page full of words. As a child, I loved reading books by Roald Dahl, Betty Ren Wright, Richard Peck, and a series from the sixties and seventies called the Three Investigators. I loved horse novels that Marguerite Henry wrote as well as any other horse novel I could get my hands on, including race horse books like Old Bones. I also enjoyed ghosts and cryptozoological books back then too. As a teenager, I read Louis L'Amour, Mary Higgins Clark, and Dave Barry. I began reading Agatha Christie as an adult, along with Heather Graham, Terry Pratchett, and other random authors. I'm working my way through the Hamish MacBeth series by MC Beaton. I also began to read a lot of non-fiction as well in my teen years and beyond.

Who/what is your favorite author/genre to read? 

If I was forced to say who my favorite author is, I'd have to say Louis L'Amour. If I was forced to pick my favorite book, I'd ask 'which genre?' My favorite Louis L'Amour book is Ride the Dark Trail. I love how he intertwined all of his core character families with the Sacketts and the Talons and I can't help but like that ornery ol Em Talon and the MT Ranch. I've read nearly ever book of his, with the exception of the new ones released after his death. My favorite mystery novel is Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (I enjoyed reading all of the Hercule Poirot books and watching the TV series. David Suchet will always be Hercule Poirot to me.) My favorite fiction novel is Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (There is also a movie, which is decent, but the book is always better.) I'm trying to think if I have a favorite Romance novel are probably my own. I honestly can't say I read a lot of the romance genre. The last actual romance novels I read was by Nora Roberts and were the Inn Boonsboro trilogy and that was nearly a decade ago. For reading with kids, we've been enjoying the Guardian series by William Joyce. 

 I never got into very many 'popular' books or authors, didn't care for Stephen King or those Twilight books. I did learn from them, though. For instance, Stephen King can have a whole chapter that is just one word. I find that I'm not one for thrillers, drama, or too much stress in my books, TV shows, or movies. Mostly these days I read a lot of non-fiction and educational material because we homeschool, I have a lot of subjects I am studying myself, and I am also studying genealogy. I do enjoy every moment of it.

What kind of books are in your To Be Read Pile?

I have some biographies on Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, and Myrna Loy. I have Mike Rowe and Andy Andrew books in there, too. I have some energy healing books, some forensic science books, some military history books, and lots of other history books. The only fictional books on there are Cliff Graham's Lion of War series, The Secret Wife by Gill Paul, and a whole lot of Hamish MacBeth. Just don't ask me how long all of these books have been in my To Be Read pile. (🤫 How are are my kids?)

Which is better -- The book or the movie?

Easy. It's the book. There are but few exceptions. One I will list is The Thin Man - The book is by Dashiell Hammett and the 1934 movie starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. The book is different from the movie but the movie has magic on its own. The only movie made from a book that ever followed the book nearly word for word was Appaloosa (by Robert B Parker. I was reading the book one time while my husband watched the movie which is how I realized that. I was impressed.) I'm sure there are more, I just haven't read them yet. But it has been my experience that the books are always better than the movies. TV series based on books, on the other hand, are toss ups. Sometimes I enjoy the TV series better than the books. On a personal note, my husband assures me he will 'read' my books by watching the movies when they are released in the future so whoever makes the movies had better not screw them up. 🤔 🤣

And on that note, I'll let you get on with your day. Thank you for stopping by and hanging out with me. I hope you have an amazing day and awesome weekend! If you've got questions, comments, or even book suggestions of your own, leave a comment! If you or someone you know are looking for your next read, I've got seven books for you to check out! 

Em Brooks at Amazon