Writers on Reading: Linwood Barclay

http://www.linwoodbarclay.com/

American born but raised in Canada, the man who wrote the UK's single best-selling book in 2008 (No Time for Goodbye) has a lot to be proud of. From humble beginnings Linwood Barclay has become one of the worlds most renowned thriller writers, after writing a newspaper's humour column for 15 years he moved through the comic capers of Zack Walker to the darker, grittier author we know and love today.

What is the first book you remember reading?

Maybe The Tower Treasure, a Hardy Boys mystery. Unless you count Reading with Phonics, which my mom drilled into me before I even went to school.

What effect does being an author have on you as a reader?

Sometimes I edit when I read. (I was an editor years, in newspapers.) I think, this would go better here, or the chapter should have ended here, or this bit of dialogue would be better if ... That kind of thing.

Are there any books you can read again and again?

I rarely read books a second time, but I have a favourite Robert B. Parker book, Early Autumn, I've ready two or three times. And I keep meaning to reread American Pastoral by Philip Roth, one of the best novels I have ever read.

Are there any genres you wouldn't choose to read?

When it comes to genres, I read mostly crime. I don't typically read westerns, but I've read those by the late Elmore Leonard and Parker. Don't read romance, and while I like sci-fi, I read very little of it. As for erotica, just the good parts.

What is the current book on your nightstand?

NOS4R2, by Joe Hill.