Rob’s Reader of the Week – Mark Chambers (Boczkowski)

As with previous Reader of the Week Linda, I first met Mark at the AlphaSmart Flickr group, and what was quickly revealed to me was a man with a profound knowledge and a love for the written word.

Mark’s well read, citing Ernest Hemmingway (one of my favourites) and Charles Bukowski among his favourite writers, so his wide knowledge of books is extremely valuable to anyone seeking reading advice. Not only that, but Mark also possesses an amazing ability for lateral thinking so his guidance has proved invaluable during the compiling of my 50 Novel reading list. For this I’m indebted to Mark and it’s a pleasure and a honour to put him under this week’s Reader of the Week spotlight. So on to the man himself – here’s Mark:

I was born in Oldham, Lancashire. I have recently moved back here. This means I once again have an OL postal code. I pronounce it ‘oh hell’. If you’ve ever been to Oldham, you’ll know why.
In no particular order, I’m….37, a father of two, a husband, completing an MA, writing, disabled so I’m told, balding, disgruntled, happy to be on Rob’s blog, not sure I believe in the existence of ‘plot’, partially Polish.

1. Favourite Genre? I am sure you’ll get this a lot, but, I’m not sure I have a favourite genre. I’ve never subscribed to a particular ‘type’ of writing as far as I am aware. I’m not one of those snobs who see genre writers as being some sort of literary underclass, but I don’t read Stephen King because he writes horror, or Ian Rankin because he writes Polis/Detective stuff. I read them, and others, because they’re good. So – no favourite genre.

2. Favourite Book? My favourite book at the moment is (still) The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills. One of the original reviews said it was a ‘comic, deadpan wonder’. They were right. The writing reminds me of Hemingway and possibly Cormac McCarthy. Simplistic but intricate, if that makes sense.

3. Why do you love reading so much? I write, or rather, I try to write. Therefore I must read. I’m not a voracious reader by any stretch, I struggle with it at times because of the daily grind and the life getting in the way, as it does. I read to have fun I’d say. I read for fun, to enjoy it. I suppose that’s escapism and seeking knowledge.

4. Favourite reading place? I don’t have a place that I have to be when I read. That said, I have to have quiet. Generally it is the bath or bed or the sofa after the rest of the house has gone to bed.

5. How BIG is your reading addiction? I do not have to read. Reading is a choice and I can be a bit too selective. By that I do not mean that I will only read Marquez in the original Spanish and all that nonsense, I mean that if there is a book on my mind that I want or have to read next for some reason, I won’t read anything else until that book is available. I married an ex-librarian, so reading goes on in our house but we tend to use the library or buy second hand books now. That fetishistic hoarding of dead wood has lost something over the years, so the bookshelves have become one bookcase which probably holds a couple of hundred books at the moment. Most of them are for sale on GreenMetropolis at the moment.

6. How do you normally add books to your collection? Collection? Who said I collected books?

I don’t collect books, and nor should you. We just look after them for a while until they are passed on to another reader. I use GreenMetropolis and eBay a fair bit. I also like second hand book shops and use those a fair bit. I have just joined BookMooch so we’ll see how that goes too.

7. How do you decide what to read? I’m doing a Masters in creative writing so books are discussed through that interaction. Plus it has an obligatory reading list. I’ve read the Saturday Guardian review section for years. It has always been a good recommender of fiction. I also tend to trawl the New Books section in the library when I visit and ask to see their copy of Who Writes Like. That too is often a good source of writers that are new to me. For those who aren’t aware of it…all libraries tend to have a copy behind the counter, it is essentially a book that lists authors alphabetically and tells you who else writes like them. Particularly useful in smaller libraries I find. No Magnus Mills in stock? Well I’ll refer to WWL and find that there are seven or eight authors deemed to write like him, so I will look for one of those instead.

8. Ebooks – love or hate? Ebooks aren’t the thing to be loved or hated in my opinion. It is the device on which we read, or try to read, them that is the important thing. Of course there are lots of ebooks in the public domain, so from that point of view-free books-they’re good. There are also a lot of rubbish ebooks being sold on every money making topic under the sun, They are predominantly absolute tripe and not worth the pixels they are rendered on!
I have a PDA and use that to read some short stuff on but prefer paper to be honest. Until I can afford something with an e-ink disply of course. Ebooks will become the norm at some point I suppose but at the moment – who cares? Things like the Sony eReader and the Amazon Kindle may well be great devices but the fact they cost two and four hundred pounds respectively is ridiculous. Of course prices will drop but they’ll never be as user friendly as a paperback. When did someone you know get mugged for their thrift store copy of Catch 22? Never. I don’t want to get mugged for my library or have to back up my books.

9. Has reading inspired you to do any serious writing yourself? Yes. I’m on the Masters as I have mentioned. A few short stories published and a novel on the way as a result of wanting to tell stories. Whether that urge was inspired by reading, I’m not sure.

10. What single piece of advice (or tip) would you give to fellow readers? Join many libraries. They are a much underused resource in the UK at present and they are they best place for books. It is free to join and they have almost any book you would want to read. If they don’t have it, they will buy it so you can read it, for a small fee, but nowhere near the cost of buying the book. They have Reading groups, Writing groups, Discussion groups, free PC access so you can look up recommendations on Amazon or The Guardian Online….seriously join many libraries. Take your kids there. Meet your friends there. Make it a normal part of your child’s life. Please.

Mark – I’d like to thank you for giving all of us such a thorough insight into your reading life. I particularly love your ‘from the heart’ appeal for people, especially children to join libraries (I couldn’t agree with you more), and on a related note many thanks also for pointing out the ‘Who Writes Like‘ resource. I had no idea that existed and it looks to be invaluable. Continued success with your degree!