My favourite... Part One

In a bid to find out more about our writers for the Discover Festival, I thought it'd be a good idea to ask them about 'a few of their favourite things'! And to kick off the series, I'm going to share with you a few of my own favourites. We'll have a host of authors' faves in the coming weeks.

MY FAVOURITE - Alex Davis

FAVOURITE BOOK:

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, hands down. For me there's always been something magical about this book that cuts through my natural resistance to anything 'heartwarming'. It's a book I always turn to whenever I need a bit of a pick-me-up.

FAVOURITE AUTHOR:

I was tempted to get for Bradbury again, but in the end I'm going to plump for JG Ballard. Whether you want to call Ballard 'genre' is a bigger question than I could answer here, but books like Crash and The Atrocity Exhibition for me offer something as horrific as any horror book out there. I also love the fascination and surrealness Ballard can draw from small concepts, which is in evidence in other favourites like High Rise and Concrete Island.

FAVOURITE GENRE FIL M:

Event Horizon. I've always loved 'space horror', and for me Event Horizon is the last word in the subgenre. Sam Neill is fantastically deranged, and some of the imagery and ideas are brilliant. I think the blend of SF and horror in the film works unbelievably well. I'd also give an honourable mention to Session 9 – for pure atmosphere it's fantastic.

FAVOURITE NON-GENRE FILM:

Requiem for a Dream. The cinematography and delivery is unusual and interesting throughout, and the spiral downwards of all the characters in the story is wonderfully depicted. It's not a cheery one, by any means, but well worth a watch. My honourable mention goes to the equally bleak Buried.

FAVOURITE TV SHOW:

I'm a big TV comedy viewer – I watch more comedy than I do drama, especially if it's animated. As such I weighed up Family Guy, South Park and Aqua Teen Hunger Force before eventually plumping for Archer. The spoof misadventures of this wannabe James Bond is loaded with jokes ranging from the cutting and intelligent to the crass and low-brow, which creates a great set of laughs each episode.

FAVOURITE BAND:

For me it has to be Opeth – again not a terribly well-known band, but a metal group with a strong cult following. Their epic soundscapes have been inspiring my writing for years, and there is great musical ability on display throughout in a genre not always renowned for its artistry. One minute angry and the next moving, they've been a firm favourite of mine since college.

FAVOURITE GAME:

Unfortunately I'm still a Football Manager addict, although I decided that 2007 was the ultimate version, so I'm still playing on that these days. In my current career I'm actually considered a world class manager for the first time, so that tells you about all you need to know about my skills. Still, I keep trying.