I noticed an interesting Q&A in the Winter issue of Porter magazine, where they asked Cindy Lauper of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” fame a series of book-related questions. I thought, “I can do that!” So here are my answers to selected questions from the quiz.
Enter a caption
What book changed your life? Ms. Lauper went with Germaine Greer. I say for me it was Andre Norton’s Catseye. Not saying that book was a classic of the ages but it was the first science fiction novel I ever read and it opened my eyes and my imagination and my creativity to the endless possibilities the future could hold. And let me know that I could dream and write my own tales!
Favorite fairy tale? Cinderella is mine, hands 
down. I love the plucky heroine, I love the magic and I love the idea of an HEA with the prince. (I love the shoes too.) My favorite version is Drew Barrymore’s “Ever After”. I also love the old Ally Sheedy movie “Maid to Order,” which is kind of a modern, reverse Cinderella. And the best Fairy Godmother hands down is Helena Bonham Carter in the recent Disney live action movie version. My favorite moment though is the Cinderella waltz in the Rodgers & Hammerstein’s production, when the Prince whisks her into the dance…..sigh.
Last Book Recommended to a Friend? I recommend books all the time, especially in my various columns and posts. I think my last one on one personal recommendation was probably either Nalini Singh’s Shield of Winter, Grace Draven’s Radiance or Jeffe Kennedy’s Talon of the Hawk.
Where do I do most of my reading? On my kindle, cozied up in bed with my two cats, lots of pillows and my very soft blanket.
Who is your favorite detective? I used to have a crush on Ellery Queen but my all time 
favorite is Brother Cadfael from the Ellis Peters series.
What are you reading at the moment? Regency Christmas stories! My favorite reading material for this time of the year. The top two classics for me are The Porcelain Madonna and The Best Gift, both short stories by Mary Balogh. I also just finished Fluency by Jennifer Foehner Wells last week, which is a non-holiday SFR.
Favorite Children’s book? Anything by Jan Brett because of her beautiful illustrations, but especially The Wild Christmas Reindeer.
Which book makes you laugh? Cotillion by Georgette Heyer
And cry? All the Weyrs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey because (spoilers) Master Robinton dies and I CRIED. And CRIED.
What book do you regret never finishing? Ms. Lauper picked I Know Why The Caged Bird Never Sings, by Maya Angelou, citing its “heartbreaking” nature. I would have to tell you that I’ve never regretted any book I did not finish because if I put the book aside, it wasn’t for me and I don’t revisit it. There was one long boys’ adventure novel I inherited from my grandfather, which I read one summer as a kid – all these exciting things happened to the hero and his Dad and the plot came to a culmination on the last page…which was missing. In those days you couldn’t just do an internet search and/or order up a new copy on Amazon. The book was lost in transition when my family moved and I have no clue who wrote it, or even the title. But all these years later I still feel cheated of getting to read the tidy happy ending! The book had a brilliant bright red cover, that’s all I remember. Oh WELL.
Happy Reading!
Great book questions and answers.
I remember Catseye very well. I kept a number of old science fiction books from my youth, and that’s one of them. I loved that the cat because the leader of the group, with even the human following along. When I reread it a few years ago, though, the book had lost its magic and all I saw were sections that could’ve been better. Sigh.