The Book Blogger Confessions Tag

Having read Read By Jess's take on The Book Blogger Confessions Tag, I thought I would give it a go.  A tag, FYI, is (as far as I understand) set a questions that you have to answer on your blog/vlog when someone "tags" you  - so basically, a game of tag without the running about and gleeful shouts of "you're it". You can of course, as I am doing, do the tag without actually being tagged. With thanks to whoever came up with this tag in the first place (wasn't able to discern who did), these are my answers.

1. What was the last book that you didn't finish?

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier. I picked this up during a cold-induced library haul, so thankfully didn't spend any money on it. Didn't like the main character, didn't like that anyone working class was subservient to their "masters", and didn't care enough to find out whether or not Rachel was a baddie (the key mystery of the book).

2. Which book is your guilty pleasure?  

It's more books than book to be honest and these are Doctor Who spin-off novels. I detail exactly why I love them in this post. 

3. Which book do you love to hate?

Again, it's a type rather than a particular book. I have no time for "copycat" novels - books that quite clearly are trying to ride the coattails of another author's success. For example, I once saw a book that was an erotic retelling of Jane Eyre that incorporated Bronte's text. This seemed to be cashing in both on the (then current) trend for erotica (thanks to 50 Shades of Grey) and the success of Seth Grahame-Smith's parody novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Mark Twain once wrote that there's no such thing as a new idea - well a five-minute Google search says that he did anyway - but you should at least try to make a bit of an effort to do something original. Granted it's more than a tad ironic for me to write that given that this post is copying someone else's idea but at least I am acknowledging that I didn't come up with these questions (plus, the whole point of a tag is for lots of people to give their take on it). 

4. Which book would throw into the sea?

Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Still haven't got over the fact that I got to 25% (based on what my Kindle said) and no-one had left dry land. Therefore, throwing it into the sea might help to move the plot along a bit!

5. Which book have you read the most?

If you know me in "real life" or have just read previous posts, that answer is obvious - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 

6. Which book would you hate to receive as a present?

A celebrity "autobiography" of anyone from a reality TV programme. If I received such a book, I would assume that the giver didn't know me at all (in which case, why are they giving me a present?) or were deliberately trying to pee me off (don't get any ideas certain work colleague - you know  who you are). 

7. Which book could you not live without?

All books! My life would be poorer without books (including the bad ones).

8. Which book made you the angriest?

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I've never read a book before or since that was so blatantly racist. I get that it was written in the 1930s - a time not exactly renown for its championing of equal rights - but Mitchell acts like black people are sub-intelligent beings who like being slaves; that's an attitude that was outdated in the 19th century, let alone the 20th. 

9. Which book made you cry the most?

I don't really cry at books or films, so I am going to say "moved me the most". The one that stands out, of the books I've read in the last few years, is The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. I find all of his books moving and this fantasy tale is no exception. Its message that we'd perhaps all be happier if we forgot what others had done to us and what we had done to them (ie. don't let the past ruin the present) is a poignant one 

10. Which book cover do you hate the most?

The film tie-in cover for Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. I do most of my reading on Kindle, which automatically uses cover of the latest edition of a book. Therefore because I read this at the same time that the film came out, I got a picture of Idris Elba as Mandela on the front rather than Mandela himself. Now I get that Elba is fairly easy on the eye but, fussy of me I know, I'd have preferred to have a picture of the person I was reading about on the cover. 

I hereby tag anyone else who wants to give these questions a go!

Book confession: I love Doctor Who novels

I have, over the past few years, developed a rather concerning habit - reading Doctor Who spin-off novels. That's right I, the world's worst book snob, like to immerse myself in stories about the eponymous Time Lord (in his various incarnations) and his ever-changing companions. 

The main reason I like them is that they are easy to read and have predictable plots (they are, after all, aimed at children). You know no matter how terrible the baddie is or how fiendishly clever their plot is, good will conquer evil - particularly comforting given recent events. Plus, because they are "cannon" (ie. officially part of the Whoniverse), nothing that can happen that could affect the events in the TV show - the idea is that the adventure is happening "off screen" during the timeline of that version of the Doctor and that particular companion. For example, I've just read a book featuring the 10th Doctor and the fourth series companion Donna Noble (The Doctor Trap by Simon Messingham). They both face a fair bit of peril in the story but you know that they will survive it because they are alive and well throughout the fourth series (well apart the final episode, which I am still not really over). 

I also like the books because I get to spend more time with my preferred Doctor and companions. Matt Smith did a good job playing the 11th Doctor, but I think David Tennant had the edge as the 10th  - Smith's version of the Doctor seemed like a (charismatic) big kid whereas Tennant's had a bit more pathos and you felt less embarrassed that you were an adult watching a kids' show (though, given its popularity, I think you're "allowed" to like Doctor Who because of its cult status). By reading the novels, I can pretend Tennant never went off to do Broadchurch (forgivable if it wasn't for series 2), Rose never got stuck on a parallel world and Donna still remembers the Doctor (less bothered by Martha as she only really came into her own when she wasn't with the Doctor). 

Finally, the books may never be contenders for the Man Booker prize but they are all well written (mind you, I've only read five of the seemingly gazillions that are available so chances are some of them are a bit ropey). In fact, some of the authors are established authors in their own right. For example, Ben Aaronovitch, author of Remembrance of the Daleks (written to tie in with four episode he wrote of the same name), is the author of the popular Peter Grant series of novels (an apprentice wizard who is also a detective). "Chic lit" author Jenny Colgan has also penned a Doctor Who novel (as "Jenny T Colgan") as has Doctor Who affectionado and Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss (he's also written episodes of the TV show).

I am not sure why I am so embarrassed about my predilection for these novels. It's not like I have a rep to protect. As a colleague recently said  - in what I am deciding to see as affectionate tones - I am the "biggest nerd" she knows. Ultimately if you like something, presuming it doesn't hurt anyone else, you should just enjoy it. Life's not only too short to read bad books it's also too short to worry about reading the right type of books. On that note, I am going to dive into the new book I've just bought, the deeply unhip A Street Cat Named Bob (By James Bowen)