Where do you get the books you review? Do you get them for free?
The bulk of the books I write about come from the local library and the inter-library loan system. The rest come from library books sales and used bookstores. But if anyone wanted to send me a book or two? That would be most welcome.
How do you find out about library book sales?
http://www.booksalefinder.com. There’s listings for each state including any ongoing book sales. It’s become a little ritual to check and see what sales are going on each weekend.
How many books do you read in a week? A day?
Wow. That can vary. If I have a pile of doorstop books, you know the kind you don’t want to drop on your foot if you like not having any broken toes, then maybe 3-4. It usually takes me about 2-4 hours to read a book depending on the size and subject. Some books are like chips and I just gobble them right up.
Are you a speed reader?
Hmm…good one. I’ve never taken a speed reading courses like Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics. I do read fast and retain a lot of information after I’ve closed a book. I don’t have a photographic memory so no testing me on reciting what’s on page 73 of a particular book.
What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a book?
S.T Joshi’s two volume Lovecraft biography I Am Providence for $100.00. Took ages to get up the nerve to actually finalize the Amazon.com order. Blacklight and my brother kept telling me “JUST BUY IT ALREADY!”. But it’s not the most expensive book I’ve ever wanted. I would love to get my hands on Mass for Mixed Voices: The Selected Short Fiction of Charles Beaumont but $175 buys a lot of groceries.
How many books do you own?
<laughs> Actually Blacklight has more books than I do. I own about eighty books at the moment. I do have some small book collections (Lovecraft/weird fiction, sewing guides, housekeeping and manners, WWII government ministry manuals). Every few months I go through my books and bring the culled ones down to Book Barn to sell them. At one point after college I had over 1,000 books stashed in four huge bookcases and in my closet with every shelf packed and bowing from the weight.
What does Blacklight read?
Philosophy, hard science, hard sci/fi, fantasy, history, military, gaming and game manuals.
We know you like Lovecraft and Monica Dickens. Who are Blacklight’s favorite authors?
Larry Bond, JRR Tolkein, Stephen R Donaldson, Tom Clancy, the guy who wrote The Last Unicorn <shudders>
Do you have a favorite book?
Too hard to narrow it down to one book.
Have you ever meet any famous authors?
Hopefully my father isn’t reading this post. Right after I transferred to the University of Maine-Orono, I well…<small voice> cut class and went into Bangor to go shopping. I ended up at a bookstore and a nice older man held the door open for me. He looked rather familiar and I thought maybe he was one of my new professors. It wasn’t until I got inside the bookstore I realize that nice older man was Stephen King. Was way too shy and nervous and dim to ask for an autograph or tell him how much I enjoyed his books. I would love to meet the columnist Florence King but don’t think she would exactly relished meeting a fan even if I was on my best behavior.
What’s your favorite quotes about books?
I have a whole PAGE of my favorite quotes about books! 🙂
Why are there individual pages for some authors?
The individual pages (so far H.P. Lovecraft, Jacqueline Susann and Shirley Jackson) are my one stop reference pages for authors I truly adore and the general public might not know about. If an author has their own page, they’re part of my Literary Pantheon.
You don’t like Charles Dickens/Shakespeare/Eloise/Anne of Green Gables/William Faulkner, etc? You’re an idiot!
You read Stephen King/HP Lovecraft/Jackie Collins, etc? You must be stupid…”
“Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste.”
–Voltaire, Candide
Got more questions for Gwen? Tell us in the comments section. 🙂
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