Patton Oswalt: By the Book (NYT)

Finally from us tonight - and for the year - the New York Times has published an interview with actor and comedian Patton Oswalt. Oswalt has praised the work of John Bellairs in the past and does so again in this December 31 article when recalling some of his favorite childhood books:

The “Great Brain” books, because they felt like a weird window to a much earlier time in America that was still populated by personalities I recognized in my everyday life. And the John Bellairs books, which were so quietly logical in their approach to magic that there were times I felt like magic might be another vocation I could learn though repetition. And, from age 10 on, Stephen King, Stephen King, Stephen King. People and personalities I recognized from my life right now, also living in the world I lived in right now, battling monsters. Bliss.

What are your literary guilty pleasures? Do you have a favorite genre?

I hate the term “guilty pleasure.” If I take pleasure in something there is no reason for me to experience guilt. Especially if it hurts no one else. Wait, do “Punisher” comics hurt people?

As we've said in year's past, long live John and all things Bellairsian! Happy New Year, all.

[Image via Jillian Tamaki //h/t The New York Times]