My Reading Tastes

The past several blog entries have been in response to questions you’ve asked. Today I’ll answer the final question. This one comes from popular author BJ Hoff, whom I’ve had the honor of editing for the past few years.

BJ asks: I think it would be interesting–especially for the writers you work with–to learn more about your own personal reading preferences. (Yes, I already know Amish fiction won’t figure high on the list!) Maybe even a mention of some favorite books, but more on your likes–and dislikes.

[Before I offer my answer, I do want to say that although I really enjoy the authors I edit, I’m going to disqualify any of them from appearing in my answer below. I think it would be something akin to a conflict of interest to mention them]

Nick: Suspense author James Scott Bell and I have done some workshops where he takes the side of plot-driven fiction and I take the side of character-driven fiction (although we both acknowledge the need for both strong characters and a good plot). It will come as no surprise then that the fiction I like best is primarily character-driven.

My tastes in fiction do change—much to my surprise. As a young angst-filled college student in the 1960s, I loved J.D. Salinger. Franny and Zooey and the whole Glass family were wonderful characters. And I thought his short story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” was wonderfully depressing. But a few years ago I tried to read Franny and Zooey again and it was like the time a few years earlier when I had tried to read The Hardy Boys again.

There are exceptions though. For instance, I’m in the midst of re-reading the Little House books now and am enjoying them as much as I did as a child. Most people don’t know that in the past I owned a children’s bookstore. I do love kiddie lit. I would love to have had such a store in the 1950s and 60s before children’s books became so dark. I would have a hard time owning a children’s bookstore today. On my pile of books to read there are several children’s books I’m anxious to devour. Mostly, they are older books from the 1950s and 60s.

I’ve always had a liking for southern fiction. Some of Flannery O’Connor (but not Wise Blood) and much of Eudora Welty. Miss Welty was from my hometown of Jackson, Mississippi and once, several years ago I got to meet her. I wrote an article about that experience that is still probably my favorite piece of writing. I recently tried to read the current bestseller The Help because it takes place in Jackson shortly after the time I was a child there. However, I did not like the book. In fact, I couldn’t finish it.

I still like Sherwood Anderson quite a bit. Winesburg, Ohio is still a favorite, though that too is a rather depressing book. Not so depressing is the wonderful P.G. Wodehouse. His Jeeves books are a hoot.

Though I don’t care much for genre fiction, I love (and own) all the Philo Vance mysteries by S.S. Van Dine. Also the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy Sayers.

A non-fiction author I enjoy is Christopher de Vinck. I happened onto him years ago when Publisher’s Weekly sent me galleys of his new book to review. I was reading it over breakfast in a restaurant and quickly found that tears were falling onto my pancakes. That book was Simple Wonders. I’ve enjoyed several of his other non-fiction books as well. The other non-fiction books I love are older authors such as Andrew Murray, Watchman Nee, and many of the authors in my books Magnificent Prayer and His Victorious Indwelling (see those on my homepage. They make great Christmas gifts!)

Saving the best for last, my all time favorite fiction author is the late British novelist Barbara Pym. I reread two or three of her books every year and am likely to do so for the rest of my life. She creates a fictional world I really enjoy revisiting. And her humor is in sync with mine. Searching the internet, I came up with this example, perfect for readers of this blog:

“Once outside the magic circle, the writers became their lonely selves, pondering on poems, observing their fellow men ruthlessly, putting people they knew into novels; no wonder they were without friends.” — Barbara Pym (Jane and Prudence)

The simplest way to describe the books I like is to say that I want the author to introduce me to characters I like and transport me to a setting where I can happily visit with these characters for a while.

Next time I hope to have an interview with one of my favorite people in our industry. Keep checking back.

18 replies
  1. Richard Mabry says:

    Nick, Love the quote from Barbara Pym. It goes with the inscription on the front of my favorite sweatshirt: “Careful or I’ll put you in my novel.”
    Thanks for sharing your favorite authors with us.

  2. BJ Hoff says:

    Enjoyed this, Nick, and picked up a few new author names I’ll want to try, although we share several mutual favorites. I discovered Barbara Pym through you, by the way.

    And Doc–I love that line on your sweatshirt! I’m already thinking of a few folks who are sure to hear it soon!

  3. Michael K. Reynolds says:

    You know it’s good writing when one line from the book makes you want to rush out and buy it. When a writer is so talented you give up racing through the book, and surrender to beauty of the sentence. Leaning down to smell the rose, you forget that you originally purposed a walk. Thanks for the Barbara Pym recommendation.

    It does lead me to wonder if in the publishing world’s fearful state if great prose can still win the day. I wonder how many classic writers wouldn’t be able to make it past today’s pub boards.

  4. Nick says:

    Michael, you may not like Barbara Pym. My favorite is “A Glass of Blessings.” She’s a slow read, but for the very reasons you state. Before you buy one, better just check a copy out at the library. You may not like her after all.

  5. Michael K. Reynolds says:

    Nick,

    You haven’t let me down yet. I’m sure I’ll love it.

    I thought I recognized Andrew Murray’s name and sure enough, after checking my bookshelf saw he was the author of Humility, one of the most convicting books I’ve read. Hmmm…did I enjoy reading that? Let’s see…having my wisdom teeth pulled or reading a book that so clearly speaks to my deep shortcomings? Challenging. Yes. Transformational. Definitely.

  6. patrick says:

    very interesting! There are always new books to discover. Recently I read Absolute Truths by Susan Howatch and it blew me away. Talk about character driven fiction!! And I think it´s also a deeply spiritual book abot the way people can evolve and learn from their life experiences.

  7. Jerry Eicher says:

    Did you do some fiction with Kenneth W. Sollitt, Nick, or is that another Nick Harrison? Perhaps I’ve become too used to looking for buried secrets.

  8. Rachel says:

    Dad, I’m rereading Jane & Prudence now as a matter of fact. After having Dostoevsky’s House of the Dead and some other nonfiction on my shelf for nighttime reading, I found I had to have a Pym novel! She’s the best! And for being such an “early” novel, this one really has all the signs of her developed sense of humor. I am really getting a kick out of the exchanges between Miss Doggett and Jane about “what men really want.” 🙂 Rachel

  9. Nick says:

    Jerry, yes that’s me. I might blog about that soon. Rachel, yes she’s the best, but I don’t think she’s for everyone. I’ve recommended her to a couple of people and they didn’t like her. Too slow of a read, I guess.

  10. BJ Hoff says:

    Saw the mention of Susan Howatch. One of my top favorites. An absolute master of the character driven novel. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen anything from her for a long time.

    Oops–sorry, Nick. This is supposed to be about *your* tastes, not mine! Just sayin’.

  11. Rosslyn Elliott says:

    Nick, your posts are always interesting.

    I am intrigued to hear that you did not care for The Help, and couldn’t finish it.

    I felt the same way, and I wonder if our reason is similar.

    Was it the dialect that bothered you? I will read some dialect fiction and enjoy it (mostly the classic stuff like Kate Chopin’s short stories or Charles Chesnutt’s, as well as Alice Walker or Toni Morrison), but for some reason the dialect in The Help bugged me beyond all measure.

  12. Nick says:

    Rosslyn, yes that was part of it. I thought I must be alone in my opinion, but then I read some of the one-star reviews at Amazon and they nailed it. They saw what I saw.

  13. Steve G says:

    So, I notice many of your fiction favs are decades old, and not much from current CBA. I have noticed in conversations/posts with other agents and people in publishing that they hardly read CBA, or rank current stuff coming out in their should/glad I did read lists. They mostly read general market books. Is that dichotomy really there or am I just not getting the whole picture? Is that the market doing that?

  14. Nick says:

    Steve, that’s a valid observation. I, too, have noticed a lot CBA editors do read widely in ABA. Perhaps it’s partly because we spend sometimes eight hours a day editing a CBA book, so when we go home we want something different. Some editors do believe the quality of writing in ABA is better. That’s certainly an arguable point. One problem CBA editors face is that sometimes the best writers we publish do not sell well. So, yes, the market has something to do with it. You can’t imagine the disappointment we have when a really stellar author does not sell well.

    As I said at the top of my post, I didn’t include the authors I edit, but if I did, there would be a few of them on my favorites list.

  15. Marcus Goodyear says:

    Chris DeVinck is a mensch! He’s got a new book coming out, or just come out. Some of my favorite pieces on the High Calling were written by Chris.

    Personally, I’m a sucker for good genre science fiction, but it’s hard to find really good stuff.

    • Nick says:

      Marcus, try Zenna Henderson’s books. “The People: No Different Flesh” is one. I think “Pilgrimage” is the other. They go together. Read them in order. Old, but really good.

    • Nick says:

      Marcus, try Zenna Henderson’s books. “The People: No Different Flesh” is one. I think “Pilgrimage” is the other. They go together. Read them in order. Old, but really good.

  16. Rebecca LuElla Miller says:

    Southern fiction and children’s lit? Nick, you HAVE to read Jonathan Rogers’ recent release, The Charlatan’s Boy. It’s Mark Twain-ish fantasy and has a character I fell in love with by the end of page one. Maybe by the end of the first paragraph.

    Becky

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