Sunday, 11 May 2008

The Reading Lamp: why goblins are misunderstood and other wonders


In this second installment of The Reading Lamp, Terry from Cyberspace gives us the lowdown on strange marginalia, goblins, and where to find his next good read.

Your name: Terry

What are you reading now?
Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines.

Where are you reading it? Well the stairs made a better backdrop, but I'm more likely to read on the couch or in bed.

What do you think of it so far? I like it, especially since it upends my low/high fantasy expectations. Jig the goblin is captured by a group of adventurers who are on a quest to find a magic rod. Since Jig knows the sub-terrain, they keep him alive and use him as a guide. He's a lovable goblin and you don't often find those in books.

What would your ideal desert island book be? One of those over-sized atlases would provide decent shade, but I've wanted to reread Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi so I'll pick that.

What about a dessert book, a book you could read and then eat? I'm reminded of a Tom Petty video so I'll pick Alice in Wonderland.

The most nightmarish and/or hilarious literary collaboration you can imagine? I'd love to bend space and time to pair up William S. Burroughs and H.P. Lovecraft.

Weirdest/creepiest/most awesome thing you've ever found inside a used book? I read a copy of W. B. Seabrook's Magic Island which had fascinating marginalia. The book is about Seabrook's experiences in Haiti with a good chunk on voodoo – actually Seabrook introduced "zombies" to the US – but the previous reader had a whole sexual subplot running in the margins.

How do you decide what to read next? Lately I've been trying to work through my Horror Book Club backlog. I also try to read stuff I can talk about on my gaming site, GameCouch.com.

Who do you talk to about books? My wife, first and foremost. I'm also lucky to have amazingly literate friends.

*Email the Dreamqueen at colleen at bookphilia dot com if you'd like to be featured on The Reading Lamp!*

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