Recently, Stephen King was quoted as saying about bestselling mormon vampire romance author Stephenie Meyer:

“Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”

I thought that was a pretty bold statement from a very famous public figure, and decided to see what else he might have to say.

Most of Mr. King’s books aren’t really my thing (exceptions: Misery, The Shining, The Running Man, Thinner (the gypsy with the rotting nose haunted my dreams when I was about 12), The Stand, Carrie….huh, I like more than I thought), so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really like his writing in his Entertainment Weekly (he does a column called ‘The Pop of King’).

I found it engaging, funny, thought-provoking, decisive and interesting. So it occurs to me that maybe it’s not Stephen King’s writing that leaves me a bit cold, but the genre itself. I love horror movies, but I think perhaps I’ve outgrown horror books.

Anyway, I really loved a lot of what he had to say. Here are some Stephen King quotes I particularly enjoyed.

On bestselling books:
“I believe that 70 percent of the fiction and nonfiction best-seller lists is dreck, and that ”The Da Vinci Code,” by Dan Brown, stands as a prime example.”

On movie snacks:
“My candy of choice is Junior Mints. And while I don’t bring bootleg food into the movies, I do bring bootleg toothpicks. Then, as I relax in my seat, I take a toothpick and poke five or six Junior Mints onto it. It ends the dreaded Chocolate Hand, and it’s also kind of fun to eat candy off a stick. I call them Mint-Kebabs.”

On chicklit vs. manfiction:
“Women like stories in which a gal meets a handsome (and possibly dangerous) hunk on a tropic isle; men like to imagine going to war against an army of bad guys with a Beretta, a blowtorch, and a submachine gun (grenades hung on the belt optional).”

On blogs:
“…a place where, as a rule, the self-appointed critics eat their young.”

On why no Harry Potter reviews ever did the books justice:
“In their hurry to churn out column inches, and thus remain members of good standing in the Church of What’s Happening Now, very few of the Potter reviewers have said anything worth remembering. They take a perfunctory wave at things like plot and language, but do little more…and really, how can they? When you have only four days to read a 750-page book, then write an 1,100-word review on it, how much time do you have to really enjoy the book? Rowling set out a sumptuous seven-course meal, carefully prepared, beautifully cooked, and lovingly served out. The kids and adults who fell in love with the series (I among them) savored every mouthful, from the appetizer (Sorcerer’s Stone) to the dessert (the gorgeous epilogue of Deathly Hallows). Most reviewers, on the other hand, bolted everything down, then obligingly puked it back up half-digested on the book pages of their respective newspapers.”

On movies he didn’t care for:
“Hated ”Antwone Fisher”; ditto ”The Life of David Gale.” Don’t tell me the former is better than the latter, and don’t throw a bunch of sentimental tripe at me and call it social commentary. ”Antwone Fisher” is especially annoying in this regard, a $9 Hallmark card that amounts to ”Roses are red, Violets are blue, Life is tough, But you’ll get through.” I knew that already, thanks, now go away.”

On great writers:
“I think Elmore Leonard is the great American writer…but that he was a lot better 10 years ago. I think that if you haven’t read Stewart O’Nan, Peter Robinson (the Alan Banks mysteries), Peter Abrahams, or the early novels of Dennis Lehane, you have some catching up to do.”

On politics (pre-election):
“Barack Obama looks like the grave and intelligent news anchor on a major-market station. John McCain, on the other hand, looks like the slightly dotty commentator who rants about the local sports teams and obscure bond issues on a small-market station.”

On The Road by Cormac McCarthy:
“Simple, stripped to the bare bones, this story of a man’s effort to keep his son alive and to find any place of refuge in the wake of a great disaster is the finest achievement of McCarthy’s career. I thought it was almost the perfect narrative — spare in its beauty and constantly driven forward by its own interior urgency. Impossible to put down, in other words. “

On his wishlist for 2009:
“I wish for a year during which no talented young [people] die before they can realize their full potential. No Heath Ledgers, please; what a sickening shock it was to hear that on the radio. No David Foster Wallaces, either. We need all the bright lights we can get, because the world is too dark already. “

Paltrow says, ” I always like knowing the literary preferences of people. I think it gives a better understanding of their inner life.”

Friends who’ve shared their top book picks include Madonna, who Paltrow states, “rules the world, is a loyal friend and a terrific mother” and super model Christy Turlington, “an amazing friend, mother, and an activist who is pursuing her masters in Public Health at Columbia University”.

Gwyneth’s picks:

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles

Madonna’s Choices:

• The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa
• Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
• The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Christy Turlington’s Selections:

• The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Don’t forget that Madonna has several books of her own published. Gwyneth Paltrow co-authored Spain…A Culinary Road Trip the companion book to the prime-time public television series Spain…On The Road Again while Christy Turlington published Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice in 2002.

(In the pictures Paltrow is seen carrying children’s book Thank You Bear by Greg Foley and Maddonna is holding Armistead Maupin’s The Night Listener.)

1001 Books for Every Mood: A Bibliophile’s Guide to Unwinding, Misbehaving, Forgiving, Celebrating, Commiserating by Hallie Ephron, PH.D. is a comprehenisive guide to books categorized by moods rather than subject or genre. For instance, chapters include”…for a Wallow in a Slough of Despond”, “…for a Good Laugh”, “…for a Good Cry”, “…to Blame Your Genes”, “…for Apocalyptic Vision” – the chapters cover 70 moods in total.

All books mentioned came from reader recommendations, book reviewers, librarians, booksellers and Ephron’s personal favorites. Every book had to be in print and easily accessible. Ephron also personally “inspected” each title by reading associated reviews, observing reader reactions and reading at least a small portion of it.

Entries include a summary of the book and the books are rated with an icon indicating classifications such as Literary Merit, Brainy, Bathroom Book and Easy Reading. Also included with the entries is a list of any awards the book has won. Oh and there’s even  an icon letting you know which books have been made into movies.

Here’s a sampling of the recommendations:

…for a Good Laugh

• Archy and Mehitabel by Don Marquis
• Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
• Sick Puppy by CarlHiaasen

… for a Wallow in a Slough of Despond

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler
• Interpreter of Maladies by Jumpa Lahiri

…to Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

…to Indulge Your Inner Child

• Amphigorey by Edward Gorey
• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

And there’s more! A whole lot more! I’m barely scratching the surface with the above.

Not only is 1001 Books for Every Mood: A Bibliophile’s Guide to Unwinding, Misbehaving, Forgiving, Celebrating, Commiserating a great book for any bibliophile to have on hand, it would make a fantastic gift for any book lover or even someone who would like to start reading more.

An important step is to become familiar with those who have gone before you -  That is,  published authors and their books.

So as further motivation to read children’s picture books (read: give myself a kick in the backside), I am declaring Tuesdays to be Tales for Tots day and commit to recommending at least one book that I have reviewed each week.

And there’s no time like the present! Today’s recommendation is Alice the Fairy by David Shannon.

Alice is a fairy.  Not a Permanent Fairy, just a Temporary one. She’ll have to pass the tests of the Advanced Fairy School before her status can be upgraded. But Alice is getting a lot of fairy practice- she turns her dad into a horse for a horsey ride, magically transforms cookies baked by her mom for her dad  into cookies just for her and can make herself disappear (through a flick of the light switch with her wand).

Alice struggles with some of the more advanced fairy skills such as making clothes get up off the floor and line up in the closet.  Maybe she’ll stay a Temporary Fairy forever.

The book is a fun read and the humor appealing to young children. The illustrations are bright and cheerful and those of you familiar with Shannon’s David books will recognize the almost juvenile drawing style.

Alice the Fairy is a great book for any Fairy Wannabe and Fairy Godparent to share.