How does he think them up?
Who's the greatest author's friend on the planet?
So many questions and I can't answer the first one, but author of the successful SF Cassa series is the answer to the second: yes today Alex J. Cavanaugh is hosting the Genre Favorites Blogfest.
Not difficult. All I need to do is list my favorite genre of Movie, Music and Books. And a guilty pleasure genre. So here goes (hold onto your hats):
Not difficult did I say? That's like asking where my inspiration comes from...chorus time...I don't know! Carlos Fuentes could have been talking about me when he said: "Don't classify me, read me. I'm a writer, not a genre".
Let's start with movies, or films (ahem), because it's the easiest one. I like comedy. For example, I adored Peter Sellers in all "The Pink Panther" films . Here's a snippet from one if you want a laugh: "Does your dog bite?"
That was easy. Now onto the difficult part.
Music: I could go on forever in this because I choose music to suit my mood. Here're three:
- Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor
- Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark
- Damien Rice's The Blower's Daughter (mmmm...yum)
Now books. The most difficult of all. Here are just three again (but I could go on forever about the genres I like, truthfully):
- Gothic horror (Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast)
- Fantasy (The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern)
- Classic Literature (Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird)
All over the place, that's me.
One of my guilty pleasures is watching the cheesiest, cringe-making but hilarious Carry On films from the 1960s. These low-budget films had one of the funniest lines in a British comedy. It's Kenneth Williams as Julius Caesar in Carry On Cleo when he's in fear of his life:
"Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!"
I think cheesy movies from one era or another will wind up on a lot of lists.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great intro and participating in the blogfest, Susan!
Ah...Carry On Cleo - featuring one of my alter egos (played by Charles Hawtrey) :-)
ReplyDeleteCheesy movies made me smile. We all need our guilty pleasures. My post won't be up until the morning.
ReplyDeleteSaying hello from the blogfest. I enjoyed To Kill A Mockingbird and have heard good things about The Night Circus- that's on my to-read-someday list.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard for me to pick out just one genre too. I do enjoy British comedy though but have never seen the film Carry On. This is twice in less than a week that I've heard about Carry On....must go check this out! (:
ReplyDeleteThat's the first "carry on" reference I've seen so far!
ReplyDeletecheesy is what it's all about!
ReplyDeleteJeremy [Retro-Zombie]
Howlin' Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine
haha i loved your list!
ReplyDeleteGOOD choice in films. I love that whole nudist camp sequence in Shot in the Dark, OH and the bit with the parallel bars and the stairs and the suit of armour! Just brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes like comedy...I could always go for a good laugh when I need it.
ReplyDeleteI agree I don't know how Alex thinks these things up. He's a genius, for all I know :)
There's a lot to be said for cheesy. Especially British cheesy.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! I'll be visiting all of you now...
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting list.
ReplyDeleteClassic literature will endure for many, many years...
haha. I love that your list was all over the place. i started thinking of my favorite movies and came up with: The Little Princess, Gladiator, Moulin Rouge, Fight Club and Seventeen Again. I kind of went...hmmm? I'm supposed to pick a friggin genre out of there? haha
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Damien Rice. But, I have to admit, I am the only person in the world who didn't love The Night Circus. The descriptions were beautiful and awe-inspiring, but the rest of it fell a little flat for me. I never felt like I knew the MC's well enough to buy into their romance. But, that's why we have so many different books, right? Cause not everyone likes the same things.
Anyway, love your site. The little cat threatening me to leave a comment was enough to make me into a follower. haha. Nice to meet you!
Carry On . . .I haven't seen one of those in a long time . . .sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteLove your choices!