Category: Lord of the Rings / Hobbit

Hey, it’s (finally!) Blogger Insider time again. My partner is Lee Anders, a quite charming lady with a nice site to visit. Here are her questions for me … see the next post for the special bonus of my questions for her.

Question 1: If you were forced to sell your entire comic book collection save one, which one would you keep? And why?

Yeesh. “If you were forced to cut off all your fingers and toes save one, which one would you keep?” That sort of question, only multiplied by some several hundred. That being said …

… I really have no idea. I don’t think I have anything that isn’t replaceable. Probably, if push came to shove, an old Neal Adams X-Men I have, oh, around #59 or so, “The Last X-Man.” Fabulous art, really left a lasting impression on me. Got it as a kid, and it defined a lot of the wonder and love of comics that led me back to collecting in high school.

Question 2: Of all comic creators and artists, living or dead, who would you most like to meet? And why?

Well, I’ve actually gotten to meet a number of them at the half dozen or so San Diego Comic Cons I’ve been to (which was a heck of a lot easier when I lived in California, though we may make it back there this summmer). In terms of meeting more than “Hey, I love your stuff, can you sign this for me?” sort of things, and more along the lines of, “Who would you like to have dinner with?” I’d probably say Peter David (whose writing I am a serious fan of), though I’d be intrigued by Terry Moore as a close second (I’d love to learn more about the genesis of Strangers in Paradise. Phil Foglio would be entertaining, and Stan Sakai is a neat guy, and would be fun to spend more time with.

Question 3: You began reading at an early age, and you even recall the first book you ever read … Was there any one book that you (as a child) loved above all others?

Somebody’s been looking at my web pages … 🙂

That’s a tough one, though. I’ve been reliving some of the early stuff in buying books for Katherine. Probably Yertle the Turtle, for early stuff. Bambi and Bambi’s Children later on — and I never saw the Disney version until I was an adult. And later on after that, A Wrinkle in Time.

Question 4: Out of all the books you’ve read (as child and/or adult), which one would you most like for your daughter to someday read?

All of them. No, seriously, I can’t think of many I wouldn’t want her to read. The ones I mentioned above. The Lord of the Rings (I’ll cheat and call that one book). The Bible. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Zelazny’s Amber. David and the Phoenix. Eleventy-dozen others. I get no greater joy than someone else enjoying a book I’ve read.

Question 5: You have an amazing collection of quotes you share with the public (WIST). Who, or what, inspired you to start the collection?

I’ve always enjoyed a good turn of phrase. When I was in high school, I started scribbling quotes down in a little 3×5 spiral binder. That grew into a Tolkien “blank pages” journal while in college. At some point, my (first) wife and I decided to put them together as a Christmas gift (a cheap one at that) for folks. And it grew from there.

Question 6: Do you remember the first quote you saved?

There was a lot of Tolkien in that first binder. One of the oldest I can think of, though, was:

No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.
    — Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), The Scarlet Letter

Question 7: It is obvious you are a devoted family man, but what one thing about you do you believe will most stick out in your daughter’s mind when she is an adult?

My sense of humor and the absurd, I think. Or the constant litter of books around me. Or, hopefully, my love for her.

Question 8: What quality of yours would your wife say is your best?

Heh. She reads my blog, you know …

I’d probably guess it would be my devotion. I have a sense of duty Above and Beyond, I am told by her.

Question 9: And your worst?

She probably wouldn’t say what my worst quality is. I’d say it’s being too adverse to confrontation when it’s needful.

Question 10: Your job forces you to travel quite a bit, and most people in your position would consider a vacation being able to stay at home. How about you?

Oh, I can stay home and veg and surf the net and watch TV and sleep in and read for a long time before I get bored, especially these days. That hasn’t removed my desire to travel and see neat things, though. Katherine has made it a bit more difficult, both in terms of logistics, and in terms our our regularly spending our vacation time (and travel dollars) going back to see our families in California, rather than touring the highways and byways of the world.

Question 11: What about blogging most appeals to you, as a reader and/or a writer?

As a writer, I enjoy sharing with folks things that I find interesting — whether it’s bits of my own life, or links, or humor or deep socio-political insights (heh). As a reader, it’s finding folks who have similar interests or opinions to my own (which isn’t to say I don’t like being challenged, but it’s kind of neat to find out that your own tastes and sensibilities aren’t utterly unique).

Question 12: You can only recommend three links to your readers (blog and non-blog), which do you choose? And why?

Hey, I think *I* asked that question. Hmmmmm …

Well, one’s got to be Google, the sine qua non of using the web these days.

James Lilek’s Bleat is always entertaining, and frequently thought-provoking. And he has a little girl just younger than Katherine.

And Amazon.com. Because, damn, I could only have dreamed about such a wonderland as a child.

Question 13: Are you familiar with Random Ruminations?

No, but I am now. 🙂 He goes onto the Likely List o’ Links — blogs I like well enough to read through them once, and then put them in my Favorites. If, when I spend some Friday night sifting through that list a second time, I again like what I read, then I’ll make them a part of the ever-burgeoning Link List o’ How Dave Spends Too Much Time Blogging.

(Lee mentioned, re the last question, that “I like to use this opportunity to promote lesser known blogs, and I always try to match my interview partner to someone whose blog I think they would like.” A neat idea I’ll have to swipe.)