When the question is asked that way, one is tempted to reply in the spirit of Wendy Cope:

When they ask me, “Who’s your favourite poet?”,
I’d better not mention you.
Though you certainly are my favourite poet
And I like your poems too.

Rest assured that if you are a writer, and you know me well enough to be reading this, you probably fall into that category, if not quite in the biblical sense that Wendy Cope probably had in mind.

Anyway, I have a lot of favourite writers, in the sense of people whose works I like rather than people who I like who happen to be writers. (See my LibraryThing author cloud.) I thought of recounting here my teenage appreciation of Zelazny, my more recent experimentation with Hemingway, my lifelong obsession with Tolkien, my enjoyment of Bujold and/or Le Guin. But if I ask myself which of my favourite authors hasn’t yet featured in this meme, there is one name that jumps out at me: Brian Aldiss. Ever since I discovered his slightly awkward, sometimes passionate, occasionally baroque storytelling, I have enjoyed and admired his writing – particularly his short stories from the 1960s and 1970s (and rather less so the Helliconia trilogy). He has the gift of leaving the reader with a lasting image in the mind’s eye; he is hardly ever cute or over the top, and rarely even comfortable. I guess that for those who don’t know his writing, the collection variously titled Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand or The Canopy of Time is a good place to start, and then move on to the earlier novels and then Helliconia if you have the energy. I still find him refreshing and relaxing to return to.

Day 01 – Your favourite series of books (with more than 3 in the series)
Day 02 – A book that you wish more people had read
Day 03 – Your favorite recent book
Day 04 – Your favorite book ever
Day 05 – A book you hate
Day 06 – Your favourite writer
Day 07 – A writer you don’t like
Day 08 – Your favourite work in translation
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 – A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – An book you’ve read more than twice
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book
Day 14 – Favorite male character
Day 15 – Favorite female character
Day 16 – Your guilty pleasure book
Day 17 – Favorite trilogy or tetralogy
Day 18 – Favorite book cover
Day 19 – Best ensemble of characters in a book
Day 20 – Favorite kiss or love scene
Day 21 – Favorite fictional romantic relationship
Day 22 – Favorite ending/climax
Day 23 – Most annoying character
Day 24 – Best quote
Day 25 – A book you plan on reading
Day 26 – OMG WTF? plot
Day 27 – Favourite non-mainstream writer
Day 28 – First book obsession
Day 29 – Current book obsession
Day 30 – Saddest character death