Genre Favorites Blogfest

(Due to the holiday, this post is pre-scheduled and I won’t be able to hop around to other blogs till later. I’ll try to catch up as much as possible later!)

Today, Alex J. Cavanaugh is hosting another of his blogfests. This one asks participants to list their favorite genres of books, music, and movies, and to list one guilty pleasure for one of the categories.

Music:

Disregard my current banner (chosen and created in honor of my WIP set during the Eighties). My musical heart has always belonged to the music of the Sixties and Seventies. Even better if I can find the music on vinyl instead of CD. The Monkees were my first musical love, and my favorite band from 1986-93. And ever since, I’ve always gravitated towards the music of my parents’ generation.

I’ve got, like, nine albums made in my lifetime by people who got famous in my lifetime. All my other albums made in my lifetime are from people who were already famous when I was born. The Who has been my favoritest band since late 2000, though I’ve liked them since ’93. The Beatles, my third musical love, will always be the musical love of my life, even though they’re no longer my favorites. And The Monkees will forever be in my heart as my first musical love. (My second musical love was The Four Seasons, who of course inspired Adicia’s story.)

Movies:

I love a good, long historical drama. Even better if it’s set in a foreign country, and even more bonus points if it’s an actual foreign film, not just filmed in a foreign country. Such examples are Nowhere in Africa, Sunshine, The Inner Circle, The Confession (L’Aveu), Hitler’s SS: Portrait in Evil, Divided We Fall, and a bunch of other films you’ve probably never heard of. Since my areas of historical expertise, and two of my writing passions, are Russian history and the WWII/Shoah era, I particularly go for Russian films and films set in Europe or on the American homefront during the war.

Beyond that, my passion is silent film. I’ve seen over 900 silents to date—features, shorts, advertisements, movie previews, and the short snippets from the first decade or so of moving images. I’m always up for talking to people who have misinformed misconceptions about the silent era and are honestly open to learning something new. My favorite actors include Rudy Valentino (he really has to be seen in motion to be appreciated and understood, and please DO NOT watch The Sheik first!), Ramón Novarro, Lon Chaney, Sr., John Gilbert, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Greta Garbo, Mary Pickford, Nita Naldi, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Lillian Gish.

I also love early sound film, and anyone who really knows me knows what a huge fan I am of Laurel and Hardy (my loves since July ’96!) and the Three Stooges. Shemp-bashers get no love from me. I’ve always wanted to name my future firstborn son Samuel, and after I started appreciating Shemp instead of childishly bashing or avoiding him just because he wasn’t Curly, I began thinking what a groovy nickname Shemp is for Samuel.

Books:

I’ve always had a strong preference for historical fiction, classic world literature, and literary fiction. From time to time I’ll read some sci-fi, though I generally prefer softer sci-fi. The only hard sci-fi writer I’ve gotten into is Isaac Asimov, who was just such a brilliant writer and thinker. Most of all, though, I love historical. History was always my favorite and best subject in school, I have a degree in history, and most of my hobbies and interests are linked to history (silent film, antique cars, coins, stamps, vinyl records, old books). It seemed a natural fit that I’d write historical myself, after having fallen in love with historical books.

I love being able to step back in time to a different world, when things were slower, when people appreciated the important stuff, when hand-holding and kissing were serious steps in a relationship instead of babyish, outdated things to be skipped just so you can “hook up,” when people had a real sense of wonder at new inventions, when you had to work hard for your food and home instead of pushing a button or going to a store.

Guilty Pleasure:

I do have a sentimental fondness for the cheesy, fluffy books of the Eighties and Nineties, like The Babysitters’ Club, Sweet Valley High, Taffy Sinclair, all those series books you now find on the free or bargain table at booksales. I started rereading the BSC awhile ago, and found the first few books were actually fairly well-written. Then it became a franchise, and the quality got worse and worse.