Charles O'Keefe

Excellent question! First though for people who don't know me I'm Charles O'Keefe. I am an indie author with 2 novels coming out this year (both in the vampire genre). If you'd like to more about me please visit my site: htttp://www.charlesokeefe.com , or even better buy my books (the 1st one will be re-released March 27th 2015) Back to the questions, I'm not sure if they are in order of how much I love them but here we go:

1. Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

This is a fantasy novel of the epic length (almost 1000 pages) but I flew through it. It was the fastest I ever read a book that large and it was a wonderful experience. The book approaches the story of Arthur (and the knights of the round table) from a different perspective, the female point of view. It is a magical tale where a large amount of time passes and one particular character is born and eventually grows old. It had everything I wanted, sex, magic, action, intrigue, twists it's all there. A wonderful book I'll always think fondly of.

2. I am Legend by Richard Matheson

A unique (at the time) take on vampires and the end of the world scenario. This book is quite short (just over 100 pages) but what a ride! I can honestly say I couldn't put it down, I HAD to find out what happened next. What I loved about this book also was the simplicity of it, most of the book it is just one guy, his thoughts and his struggle against the vampires. He's a flawed character but you come to love him. I also found the scientific approach Matheson took on vampires very refreshing and interesting. A wonderful read from a great author (if you have a copy similar to mine you're also treated to a bunch of his short stories as well :)

3. Out to the Battery

This is a non-fiction book that unless you live in Newfoundland, most likely won't find. It was put together by some Memorial students as an important testament to the history of the Battery (in St. John's) and part of their graduate studies in Folklore. I read the whole thing in 5 hours and found it extremely hard to put down. If you want to get a feel for how the Battery once was, is now and learn how the people are struggling to not only hold onto their historic structures and their community but also its unique nature, this is the one for you. For others who want to learn about Newfoundland, our culture, the weather and everything else that makes this a unique place I would also highly recommend it.

4. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

How can you not love Tolkien? I'll be honest "The Two Towers" is long and for the first half rather boring. I don't think you can pick either of the other two (as it's just one long story), so I went with "the Hobbit". This is a self-contained piece of fantasy joy. Tolkien creates a world where magic, elves, dwarves, hobbits (halfings if you will) dragons and wizards all populate it. The great part though is that none of these elements overwhelm the story. It is a low magic world (high fantasy) where they blend in seamlessly and the displays of magic are given the great awe and wonder they should be. I love so much about this book, the dragon, Bilbo, the battles, the creatures. It is also the shortest and quickest read of the Lord of the Rings story. Smaug in particular fascinated me, he is a dragon and some would say evil but is he just doing what's in his nature? When does intelligence and personality override instincts and conditioning? Tolkien never answers these questions but they are immense fun to ponder. This is also the only book I ever read twice (that I can remember) and another one I found hard to put down.

5. 1984 by George Orwell

A masterpiece I read about 7 years ago. Short but packs an incredible story with fascinating ideas. While this is obviously a harsh commentary on society (Big Brother is more real than ever today!) and politics I found the brainwashing aspect the most intriguing (that and the unique ending). If you haven't read it I won't say but it's certainly not a happy one. Just a simple concept like making people believe if 2+2=5 then you can control anything they say or do. If government can control how we think then the possibly for evil and corruption is almost beyond imagination. Orwell was ahead of his time and this brilliant novel is a fast, compelling read that I had to force myself to slow down with so it wouldn't be over with too quickly.

Lately I've gotten back into comic books. The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman is amazingly well done. It got me back into the comics. I've also been reading Punisher, Batman and Dark Tower comics. I generally prefer more adult comics.

If you meant novels lately I've been reading some vampire ones (as I do enjoy them). So be broader I most enjoy horror, Sci-Fi, fantasy (all of those in short-story form as well) and the occasional non-fiction book. I am fascinated by World War II history and I also quite enjoy novels and short-stories by Ernest Hemingway as well.