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My three main interests apart from eating chocolate are reading, music and playing The Sims. Here you can find out just what I like to read and the music I like to play. To find out more about The Sims why not go and have a look at the Official site. I love books, I always have - I was surrounded by books when I was growing up - and reading is the one thing I have never grown out of, and never will, I think. A good book is like a good friend, you might not see each other for ages but you really enjoy each others company when you do, no matter how often that is. So... What kind of stuff do I read? Mostly fantasy and sci-fi, with the
emphasis on the fantasy side of things. I also enjoy stories from
British and Irish mythology, and went through a phase of reading
*anything* that was based around Arthurian myth. I remember feeling
kind of cheated when I realised that Tolkien had used the richness and
diversity of British folklore very heavily in both the Hobbit and The
Lord of the Rings. It seems rather petty now, especially when so many
authors do the same thing, but back then Tolkien was almost the
equivalent of a God to me.
Who are my favourite authors? And what are my favourite books? If I listed every writer of every book in my collection the list would be huge, so I've decided to include only those who I read and re-read with great frequency, and who have written series that I particularly enjoy. Remember - taste is a very individual thing, and many of the books I feel are wonderful you may hate. I will freely admit to not being a very critical reader, if I enjoy the story I will enjoy the book even if it is not as well written as it could be. The only thing that used to cause me problems when I was younger was the difference between British and American English!
Marion Zimmer Bradley She wrote what I regard as possibly the
best and most original retelling of the Arthurian myth in 'The Mists of
Avalon'. I also love the 'Darkover' novels (I think I have all of them,
including the anthologies) and her retelling of the fall of Troy
through Cassandra's eyes in 'The Firebrand'. Sadly, Marion Bradley died
in 1999 and will be much missed. Storm Constantine Storm's a very recent discovery of
mine. I can highly recommend Burying The Shadow (a slightly bizarre
take on the Vampire myth, which is the first one I read), the Wraeththu
trilogy and the Grigori trilogy. It's good to read a novel by someone
who is influenced by a different mythology base than I am used to. I
can see myself having to go and find out a damn sight more about
Sumerian legends! David Eddings I think the Belgariad is wonderful and probably one of the best fantasy series written. I like all his fantasy stuff, though by the time I was finishing the third book of the Tamuli I was starting to get a little irritated with the way he works everything out so conveniently. Raymond E Feist I like the way all of his fantasy worlds and countries are believable, though I don't like the way he treats certain characters. It hasn't stopped me from buying nearly every book he has written, and then waiting for the new ones to be released! Alan Garner He may be officially a children's writer, but there is nothing childish about his books. 'The Owl Service' is a case in point here. It's a modern day take on the Welsh legend of Blodduedd, and is actually quite frightening in parts. His books 'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen' and 'The Moon of Gomrath' are what set me off firmly on the road to enjoying fantasy. The fact that they are set in Cheshire, not far from where I live, in areas that I had heard of as a child, and have now visited, made the books that little bit more special.
Katharine Kerr I started reading the 'Deverry' series
as library books until I realised I was going out and buying them
anyway. Now I just buy them as they are published. The cyclic style of
writing took a little getting used to at first, but now I really enjoy
it. Katherine Kurtz I picked up the first of the 'Deryni'
series from a second hand bookshop. I was caught hook, line and sinker.
More recently I have become a fan of the 'Adept' series she has written
with Deborah Turner Harris. This a wonderful series set in modern day
Britain (mostly Scotland) and touches on all sorts of things including
Freemasonry and the Knights Templar. There is so much to get out of the
books, on so many levels. There is also a lovely short novel called 'St
Patrick's Gargoyle' which I would heartily recommend trying to find.
It's a really heart-warming read about the ex-Avenging Angels of the
Lord, who are now gargoyles and protectors of Holy Places. Sounds daft,
but it really is a good read. Mercedes Lackey I have Marion Bradley's Darkover
anthologies to thank for first drawing my attention to Mercedes Lackey.
I now get frustrated as she can't write fast enough for me... I love
her Valdemar books, I love the Diana Tregarde series, I love the
SERRAted Edge series... You get the picture. I have never read a book
of hers I *didn't* like. Anne McCaffrey The first book of hers I read was
'Restoree' which I borrowed off my sister. I later went on to read the
first of the 'Dragons of Pern' books and was completely hooked. Apart
from the Dragons of Pern books, she has written quite a few memorable
series; personal favourites are 'The Crystal Singer' and 'The Tower and
the Hive' series. Terry Pratchett He writes, and writes, and writes. There's nothing quite like the Discworld series and I look forward to finding out just who he is going to make fun of next. Terry Pratchett is quintessentially British. As the Librarian would say... Ook! Tolkien (of course). I first read the Lord of the Rings when
I was 9 or 10. Tad Williams I have just finished the most amazing
series by this guy. It's called 'Otherland' and is four books long. One
piece of advice I would give is not to get them in hardback as they are
huge. The series is a weird mixture of near-future, cyberpunk and
fantasy and sounds really iffy when described like that, but it is
probably the most refreshingly different series I have read in a while.
The first book took a little getting into, but once I had I couldn't
put them down! If you like a more traditional fantasy read, Tad
Williams has written another four book series (though really it's only
three, the last one is split up into 2 as it is so big!) that is a
version of the hero-quest called 'Memory, Sorrow and Thorn'.
Yes, it has Elves but they're are not the same as your usual elves... Some places on the net where you can
order books online are
Amazon or Amazon UK and WH
Smith. There are many more than these, but I have used both
Amazon and WH Smith and been happy with their service. Plus the fact
it's cheaper than buying the books from the shops! I do still have a
tendency to want to support small local bookshops, but these are now
becoming rarer and are usually specialist outlets. 
My musical taste is now somewhat eclectic, but has it's foundation in the 1980s. Way back in the early 80s I really loved The Cure, Bauhaus, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, The Cocteau Twins, Simple Minds, U2, Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Louis Armstrong and Clannad. There were many more that I quite liked such as Adam and The Ants. I later discovered The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission and (as they were when I first decided I liked them) Southern Death Cult.
Now I listen to all kinds of stuff; classical, new-age, Celtic style folk music, Gregorian chant, polyphonic choral music and loads of bands that could be very loosely labelled as 'goth' (from the point of view that I think of myself as 'goth' and I like them therefore they are 'goth' bands... even if they come under one of the more electronic umbrellas such as future-pop or ebm). Of course we all know that the Sisters of Mercy are not a Goth Band (*cough*) or so Andrew Eldritch tells us anyway.
I like to go to Whitby Goth Weekend twice a year (to see pics you can go here), and also go to Infest in Bradford sometimes at August Bank holiday as it gives me the opportunity to hear new bands and to buy lots of CDs. Bands I've seen at either venue and enjoyed are: Passion Play As for the stuff I like that has nothing to do with Infest, Whitby, Goths or the 80s... A good source of new-age type music is New World Music. They have everything from relaxation and self hypnosis CDs to those with ethereal female vocals similar to Enya. Pia is my favourite of these artists. There are also sound files available for download from the website, in real player format I think. I have a general liking for Celtic style folk music but the three artists I like the best are Loreena McKennitt, an Irish-Canadian lady who also uses other styles of music, not just from the 'Celtic folk' tradition; Capercaille, a Scottish band who use the traditions of their homeland in their music and Altan some of whom are from Donegal in Ireland (which is one area where folk music traditions are very strong).
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