What Readers Want: The Genre Fan

Our next interview comes from my friend Aaron David Kapner, who describes himself as a thirty-something actor who enjoys theater, the movies, music, and art. Aaron's also possesses a practically encyclopedic knowledge of genre fiction and I'm a total muggle, so I'm thrilled he agreed to chat with us. 

Who are some of your favorite authors? 

George R.R. Martin. Elmore Leonard. William Shakespeare. Stephen King. John Sandford.

What have you read this year?

Feast of Crows, Dance of Dragons - George R.R. Martin

The Cut - George Pelecanos

Fire in the Hole - Elmore Leonard
Preacher - Garth Ennis (a graphic novel)

Bad Blood - John Sandford

What's the best thing you've read this year?
Dance of Dragons.

What made it so good?

 It's a continuation of a saga that was started years ago and hasn't dropped in energy and ability to involve me in the characters and the world. Religious debate, Angels, a search for God, violence, gore, sex, relationships, razor-sharp dialogue....what's not to love?

Anything coming out soon that you're super-excited about?
I don't know if Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin is ever going to come out but if it does I'm first in line. 

What literary tropes/themes are you absolutely sick of?
Children with magical powers on a heroic journey like Harry Potter and all of its copycats. Also, Girls battling a post-apocalyptic, dystopian society (Hunger Games, Divergent, etc.)

Where do you acquire your books?
Amazon. Library. Barnes and Noble and Used Bookstores.


Do you notice how people that are not white males are portrayed in your books?
I didn't read it all the way through but Fifty Shades of Grey is a terrible depiction of women. It's protagonist is insipid. People need to stop reading Twilight and its fan fiction books like Fifty Shades of Grey and pick up anything else instead.

What are your literary pet peeves? Do you hate purple prose and long descriptions? Intentionally sparse sentences? What can an author do to make you abandon a book?

When different characters start using the same verbal phrases and cadences that aren't specific to a region of the country. For example, in one of the books that John Sandford writes, different cops started using, "Well?" as a means of expressing frustration. It just smacked of lazy writing.  Characters should be specific in their speech patterns to differentiate them.

Well? What subjects and themes will you always want to read about?
Murder Mystery. Serial Killers. Fantasy. Magic. Crime Dramas. Historical Fiction.

Anything else you'd like to tell me about your reading habits?
I don't always sit and read a book all the way through, I'll dip in and out, unless I'm taking a trip and need something to read or in a location for a long time and need a way to pass the time.