1a.) My favorite book would have to be Dracula, which I think is considered a classic. I really enjoyed reading it simply because I detest anything to do with vampires. They're interesting, sure, and looking them up might be fun sometimes, but in general, they scare me quite a bit. Twilight sort of changed that since the perception of vampires changed, but it still scares me. Anyway, when I was reading it, since I already don't like vampires, the book just seemed that more real to me. I was literally scared to read any further, and I worried for the characters since I can't imagine what it would be like to face such a creature. The threat of Dracula seemed real, since I already knew what he was, the trip to his castle was pretty much a large dread for me. I WANTED the character to be saved, which made it easier to read on. I just felt like I was in the story because of how real the emotions were. I also like Mr. Stoker's writing style, since it is descriptive, but not tedious, and he lets you see in many character's heads.
1b.) To be honest, I don't know. I'd like to say J.R.R Tolkien, who's not a classical writer yet. But who cares. I admire Mr. Tolkien for all his works; all of them were well-detailed and descriptive. It's amazes me that Middle-earth isn't real, because the way all this information is presented - it's almost like Mr. Tolkien lived there himself. A person couldn't have created all these languages, countries, ways of writing, history, races... it's just too *real* to be fake. I look up to him as a writer because I want to make my book have that same notion - that subtly, that air of interest to it. When you read his books, there is not an ounce of doubt in your mind that this happened - and to me, that's why it's so difficult to write fan fiction on LOTR, because of how in-depth it is. He spent most of his life working on it, and still wasn't completed. It's just really over-whelming.
2.) It depends on the author and the modern book. Some modern books don't interest me very much because it just seems to exist to carry out the fad, and fads aren't the best of things. Some things don't seem very original anymore, and the writing styles also bug me. Most books geared toward my age are mostly romance, or something that's not worth very much thought. I do like classics a bit more since there seems to be more of that serious tone I like, and it's not...tiring to read, since this was the first of it's kind. You can't open up a classic book and go, "oh, another vampire romance novel." and back then, it seems that most authors were thought weird for their stories, which just makes their work shine out more because they weren't doing it for any kind of attention. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean I don't like some modern books; I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Series of Unfortunate Events, along with Gregory Maguire, and quite a few other books that would be considered 'modern.'
3.) I don't know, really. I don't think I'd be in the correct mental state at first. I'd just sort of be flattered that people like my book and would probably faint or something equally as dramatic. But once I settle down, I'd try to use my money to benefit other people, so I think I'd donate it to charity. I want to make a difference in the world, and if many people know about me, maybe they'd be willing to follow my example.
4. It's really equal to me. Sometimes writing frustrates me, especially now since my brain is completely blocked from writing. I'm having a hard time just stringing a few sentences together. But writing is really fun to me as well since I love talking about things i love, about myself (sort of self-absorbed, but I love interviews and things), and just getting lost in my own little world. Reading is my escape from life, since a book did help me get over my problems, and I just feel like without books, I wouldn't be me. It sounds cliche, but there are so many things I've learned from books that I don't think I ever would have regularly. And it's really nice, the feeling of reading, because when you're reading - you can just be someone else for a while and handle out their problems. And if their problems are larger, you learn to realize and deal with what you have. And it also makes you more open-minded since you're use to seeing and reading about so many personalities and although they might not agree with you, you still continue reading anyway and enjoy their different perspectives on things.