Bits 'n Pieces - Martin Wilson

Martin Wilson is the author of the marvelous novel, What They Always Tell Us, a review of which can be found here. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You can visit Martin's site here to learn more about him and his book. I love his answers to the questions so...enjoy! :)

This or that:
Rain or shine?
Shine
iPod or mp3 player?
iPod
Movies or TV?
You know, usually I’d say movies. But lately it seems like I watch more TV b/c so much good stuff is on (Lost, Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, True Blood—a few of my current faves), and a lot of it is way more compelling than what’s playing at the Cineplex these days.
City or country?
City to live, country to visit.
Mountains or beaches?
Beaches
Dots or stripes?
Stripes
Dogs or cats?
I like both, but lean toward dogs
Cooking or eating out?
Eating out! I can’t cook.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee. But I love tea when I am sick or have a sore throat.
Books or magazines?
Books, of course!

Favorites:
Book-
Hard to pick just one. But if I must, it would be Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler. I’ve read this book five or six times, and each time I read it I find even more things to love about it. It may be on of the most perfect novels I’ve ever read. Honorable mentions: The Folded Leaf and So Long, See You Tomorrow, both by William Maxwell; the stories of Alice Munro; The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder.
Book store-

The Strand, New York City
Movie-

Again, it’s hard to pick just one. I am a fanatic about Alien and Aliens, though otherwise I’m not a crazed sci-fi fan. I also love Picnic at Hanging Rock, a moody and haunting Australian film about a group of school girls who vanish under mysterious circumstances. And I am a sucker for teen movies, my two favorites being Heathers and Clueless.
Music artist-

I’m not a very hip person when it comes to music. Right now I’m into Keane, Coldplay, and the Killers. Yawn, right? But hey, I like catchy pop. I am always happy when listening to Madonna and Electric Light Orchestra. And I am still obsessed with the score to The Hours by Philip Glass.
Website-

Right now, I am obsessed with all things political, so Daily Kos, Salon.com, Huffington Post, to name a few. I also love the site www.someecards.com. Hilarious stuff there.
Designer-

Hmm, not a big fashion plate here, so I’ll leave this blank. If I had a ton of money to blow, though, probably Brooks Brothers.
Coffee chain-

sadly, yes, Starbucks
Guilty pleasure-

Eating candy. I try not to, but I have gone on some candy-eating binges lately. Mainly because I discovered this store called Economy Candy in the Lower East Side, and it has gobs of candies that I used to gorge on when I was a kid—Bottlecaps, Razzles, Sugar Babies. If I buy candy I will devour it pretty quickly.
Restaurant-

Z Tejas in Austin, Texas
Color-

Blue

Have you ever:
Lived abroad?
Yes, I lived in London for 6 weeks one summer.
Gotten a tattoo?
No
Stayed up for the midnight release of a movie or book?
Yes, for one of the Lord of the Rings movies. I was dragged by friends but had a blast.
Disliked your job?
Yes.
Cried during a movie?
Yes, plenty of times. Most recently I cried watching this amazing German film called The Live of Others. I also cried while watching Atonement.
Sang karaoke?
Yes. Actually, just about two weeks ago! But before that I hadn’t done it in ages.

Questions:
If you were on a desert island, what 5 things would you bring with you?
War and Peace by Tolstoy, because I’d have tons of time to finally read this!
Moleskin notebook and a pen (okay, I cheated, that’s two things)
My iPod
Pictures of my family
Coffee
What’s on the list of things you have to do during your life?
Mainly travel far and wide. I want to go to Australia, Africa, Italy, Greece, Spain, Scandinavia, among other places. Also, ideally I’d like to write a novel every two years. I’d love to run a marathon but I’m not sure my body (nor my brain) could handle it.
If you could have one super power what would it be?
To become invisible. Or to be like Samantha on Bewitched and wiggle my nose and make anything I want to happen happen.
What’s your perfect music playlist?
Instrumental stuff mixed with Madonna, ELO, Keane, Coldplay, and other pop music. I’m loving the new Genius function on iTunes, which creates playlists based on your favorite songs.
What’s the one food you could eat day after day and not get sick of?
French fries.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
As I mentioned above, probably to Australia or Greece.
What moment in history do you wish you could’ve experienced?
I’d like to go back to New York City in the 1970s so I could buy an apartment in a neighborhood that used to be scary but is now insanely expensive. Otherwise, for less selfish reasons, I’d be curious to see ancient Greece when it was at its pinnacle, or maybe the Revolutionary days of the United States.
What does your dream library look like?
I dream of having an apartment lined with bookshelves in every room. I am a rabid book collector, and right now I have too many for my own good. My shelves are two rows deep, so I can’t even see a lot of my favorite books. So my dream library would spread across many rooms, always leaving room to add more to my collection.
When you walk into a bookstore, where do you head first?
I usually go to the new paperbacks or the new hardcover fiction.
If everyone had to read one book, what would you have it be?
Mine! Just kidding. But seriously, these are tough questions! Just one book? I really can’t answer that. I would hate to live in a world where we could only read ONE book.

Thanks so much Martin! And now you all must go and read What They Always Tell Us. MUST.