Asking a critic to name his favorite book is like asking a butcher to name his favorite pig.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The good critic is he who relates the adventures of his soul among masterpieces.
The best critics do not worry about what the author might think. That would be like a detective worrying about what a suspect might think. Instead, they treat the reader as an intelligent friend, and describe the book as honestly, and as entertainingly, as possible.
I wouldn't call myself a 'literary critic,' just a book reviewer.
If you were to ask me to pick my favourite author, well, there are so many of them, I'd really just have to say the first names that came to mind, and I'm sure that I'll later think 'Oh, I should have mentioned that one.'
You're not supposed to have a favourite book - it's like children.
I like to think that I could praise the good book of someone I personally dislike. I try not to comment on the person, to be insulting, but I have no trouble being insulting to the work.
When a character bears the same name as the author it's just an invitation to have some fun.
At the end of the day, it seems like there's a critic archetype for food movies, like with 'Ratatouille' or anything. You know, if you were doing a puppet show about chefs, one puppet would be the chef, one would be the critic.
Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp-post what it feels about dogs.
Naming my favorite books feels like naming a favorite child - impossible.