Reading with... Terry Brooks

photo: Michael Clinard
Terry Brooks has thrilled readers for decades with his powers of imagination and storytelling. He is the author of more than 30 books, most of which have been New York Times bestsellers. Street Freaks (Grim Oak Press, October 2, 2018) is a futuristic thriller and his first foray into science fiction.
 
On your nightstand now:
 
The River Bank (sequel to The Wind in the Willows) by Kij Johnson. Also The Unwanted Queen (ARC) by Jenna Glass. Dozens more await their turn.
 
Favorite book when you were a child:
 
The Black Stallion series.
 
Your top five authors:
 
OMG, you're limiting me to five? Okay, I'll just choose a variety of ones that come to mind. I'm not really big on favorites. John Connolly, Philip Pullman, Naomi Novik, Amor Towles and Ben Fountain. I'll have new ones by tomorrow.
 
Book you've faked reading:
 
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. But there are many more. Required reading in high school English in the 1960s. Yuck.
 
Book you're an evangelist for:
 
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain.
 
Book you've bought for the cover:
 
Never done that, although the fantasy writers pretty much win this category hands down if we're talking memorable covers.
 
Book you hid from your parents:
 
Never done that, either. But they hid a few from me when I was young. Mandingo and The Naked and the Dead come to mind.
 
Book that changed your life:
 
Hmmmm. The Lord of the Rings, maybe? Ya think?
 
Favorite line from a book:
 
"If it hadn't been for the Volkswagen that didn't work, we never would have looked for the mechanic who became the husband who became the stepfather who became the man who tortured us for years and put a bullet in the back of my mother's head--I'll take the new car with the warranty every time." --Trevor Noah in Born a Crime.
 
Five books you'll never part with:
 
I'm never parting with any of my books. I want to be buried with them. Or cremated in a Viking ship sent off to sea at sunset.
 
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
 
Whoa! Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Am I allowed a second choice? His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman.
 
Why you write fantasy:
 
Mostly because I grew up and never got over the shock.
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