Writers on Reading: John Connolly

http://www.johnconnollybooks.com

Another enormously talented Irish writer, John Connolly had his first book published sixteen years ago, and the ex-police man looking for justice Charlie Parker has been his companion since then in thirteen more novels, with a fourteenth 'A Time of Torment' due later this year. 

The Charlie Parker novels haven't been the only literature taking up John's time though, non-fiction and stand alone novels such as the dark fantasy 'Book of Lost Things', together with short story collections and novellas show a fantastic diversity in his writing.

Newport Libraries will be reading from some of John's work in it's 'Bettws Reads' project which starts in February 2016, and John has answered our questions to coincide with this project.

What is the first book you remember reading?

The first book I can remember reading was a Secret Seven novel by Enid Blyton, at the dining room table in our home.  I tackled the longer words phonetically, as prior to that I'd only been reading about Tom, Nora and Spot the Dog, with the result that for years I thought the word cupboard - a word not really used in Ireland - was pronounced "cup-board".  My mother thought she was living with Little Lord Fauntleroy.  It was only many years later that a younger reader pointed out that the first book I read was a mystery, which had never really struck me before.

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

I tend to read fewer mystery novels than I did when I wasn't a writer, although I'm not quite sure why.  Maybe it's like a magician going to magic shows: you're paying more attention to how the trick is done than enjoying the show itself.  I'm also aware, as a reader, that I don't want my time wasted.  Time is precious.  Books are still relatively inexpensive - or free to borrow if you join a library - but there's nothing worse as a reader than having your time wasted.  I'm still very bad at putting aside books that I'm not enjoying, because I tend to blame myself and not the book.  For that reason, a book that's giving me little pleasure takes longer to read than a book I'm enjoying.  With that in mind, I try, as a writer, not to write books that waste the reader's time.

Are there any books you can read again and again?

I don't re-read very often, in part because I feel there's so much material out there that I haven't yet read.  I am re-reading The Pickwick Papers at the moment, though, because I have a vague memory of enjoying it a lot the first time I read it.  Off the top of my head, I can name most of the books I've read more than once: Wuthering Heights, The Good Soldier, The Great Gatsby, Last of the Mohicans, The Unfortunate Fursey...  I've also probably read most of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster tales more than once.  They're my comfort reads.

Are there any genres that you wouldn’t choose to read?

No.  I got really annoyed earlier this year when a rather bumptious Irish writer told the New York Times that he didn't read crime, thrillers or spy novels.  If he hadn't read John le Carré, then that's his loss, I suppose, but underpinning his statement was, I think, an assumption that some genres are inferior to others, and all genre fiction is inferior to literary fiction - which ignores the fact that genre is embedded in the DNA of ALL fiction.  There are no inferior genres.  There is only good and bad writing.

What is the current book on your nightstand/coffee table?

We have a bookshelf in the bedroom which is filled with next-to-be-read books, some of which have been there for many years.  Aside from The Pickwick Papers, I have Dominic Sandbrook's The Great British Dream Factory, Stuart Maconie's The Pie at Night, and a history of gothic cinema lined up to read next.  One of the great joys for a reader is knowing that you're set fair for reading material for a few weeks, at least...


'Dominion', one of John's young adult series written with Jennifer Ridyard is due in May 2016, The latest Charlie Parker novel 'A Time of Torment' is due in June 2016.