Who is your one favorite author and why is their work so appealing to you? Richard Bach. His writings were comforting and inspiring during a difficult time in my life.

What are your two favorite literary subjects and why is reading about them interesting to you? I enjoy many different subjects. Two off the top of my head are science fiction books dealing with time travel and historical fiction & non-fiction set in Asia.

What are your three favorite books and why are each of them special to you? The first two on my list are easy. That third spot is almost impossible to pick because there are literally dozens of books I love that could be put there.

1. Nobel House (by James Clavell) is a fascinating fictional story of business, betrayal, history, power, mystery, and secrets in 1960's Hong Kong and part of Clavell's amazing "Asia Saga" which includes his most famous work: Shogun. I love it because of its brilliance and complexity, which makes it worthy of many repeated readings (I've read it at least eight times, and just writing about it makes me want to read it again).
2. Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (by Richard Bach) is the follow-up to Bach's equally brilliant Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and an amazing way to look at life. I love this book because it speaks to so many people... from Christians to Buddhists to Jews to Muslims to Atheists (and everything in-between). You can interpret it in any way that you wish (parable, allegory, pure fiction, or whatever) yet still be inspired. Whenever I feel lost, saddened, disconnected, or question my place in life, this is the book that I turn to.
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (by Douglas Adams) is one of the first books I can remember that made me laugh out loud. For that reason alone I went ahead and put it in the #3 spot. The Hitchhiker's trilogy of five(!) books is a wonderfully funny work of science fiction that has never been equalled.

FQ AUTHOR: If you had to write a book, what genre of book would you pen (mystery, romance, science fiction, biography, etc.) and what would it be about? Probably science fiction, since I enjoy reading it so much. As to what it would be about... how about a group Japanese Samurai warriors who discover a method of time travel during the fall of the Shogunate and escape destruction by fleeing to the future where they can rebuild their society? There they become an elite force of techno-warriors who fight to overthrow the cyborgs enslaving the human race. I would want to read something like that!

Find something new to read with the FridayQ.