In 140: Alexander McNabb on books

Friday: Three books from my childhood I want to re-read are...

Alexander McNabb: Bridge over the River Kwai, Swallows and Amazons and Thirty-nine Steps.

Friday: The kind of books I lose interest in are…

Alexander McNabb: Obvious plots, wooden dialogue and tired, clichéd characters. Of these I hate wooden dialogue most. 

Friday: The three must-reads I would recommend to everybody.

Alexander McNabb: The Alexandria Quartet, Lawrence Durrell; Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence; The Honourable Schoolboy, John Le Carré. 

Friday: I am not disturbed if the spine of the book gets creases because...

Alexander McNabb: I use a Kindle. 

Friday: I prefer a book to be a) a magic carpet; b) a light-bulb moment; c) a reality check. Because…

Alexander McNabb: All great stories are magic carpets, contain light-bulb moments and, ideally, leave you thinking - a reality check. 

Friday: Real-life characters are rare to find in books. True/False?

Alexander McNabb: Great writers create great characters. I find I steal people for my own writing constantly, so I suspect there are people in there, alright!

Friday: A book that gave me indigestion after devouring it…

Alexander McNabb: Oh, there are so many. Richard Hell's scabrous Go Now left me exhilarated/violated. Dan Brown leaves me feeling I just ate polystyrene.