Alright here goes. Tolkien was read to me at an early age, and his vivid descriptions and worldbuilding caught me up. I quickly was caught by swashbuckling stories, particularly by Edgar rice Burroughs (I’m named after John Carter of mars, so the link was early). I loved Sherlock Holmes as well, and as far as I can recollect I’ve read every story. The Great Brain books showed me how fun writing, and mischief, could be. As I got older, i tried classics and read the count of monte cristo at 15, which as not only a personal accomplishment but an insight into the wonderful drama of life. Dune sparked my intellect in ways nothing else had, into philosophy, religion, politics, etc. I read history from a young age as well but in college was truly caught up by will Durants history of civilization.
There were more, especially as I went into my all too brief teaching career, like Camus, Melville (moby-dick is now my favorite novel), and of course Orwell, one of my hero’s, and Hannah Arendt, whose work I found incredibly interesting in my mid 20’s. But that would be a much longer response ;)
Writers more than books for me. Probably Paul Daughtery (sports columnist) gave me some inspiration about how rich writing could be. Later Bob Greene (also a newspaper guy). But I'd like to think that David Gutterson and Wendell Berry are the shadows I stand in and from who I try to throw a similar shadow. Ambitious but it's a target. Lol. Thanks for the prompt.
Some of his novels are better than others, Danny, but Moviegoer certainly opened my eyes to the interplay of story and philosophy - Kierkegaard was also a strong influence on Percy. And, through him, I discovered the treasure that is A Confederacy of Dunces. Happy days!
This made me think about the books in my parents book shelves, almost all of which I'd read by the time I was around eleven (regardless of their appropriateness!). The most influential and aspirational was War and Peace, which I recognized as something important although I didn't know quite why. I found it hard going, and started it a number of times - I didn't manage to finish it until I was twenty.
Alright here goes. Tolkien was read to me at an early age, and his vivid descriptions and worldbuilding caught me up. I quickly was caught by swashbuckling stories, particularly by Edgar rice Burroughs (I’m named after John Carter of mars, so the link was early). I loved Sherlock Holmes as well, and as far as I can recollect I’ve read every story. The Great Brain books showed me how fun writing, and mischief, could be. As I got older, i tried classics and read the count of monte cristo at 15, which as not only a personal accomplishment but an insight into the wonderful drama of life. Dune sparked my intellect in ways nothing else had, into philosophy, religion, politics, etc. I read history from a young age as well but in college was truly caught up by will Durants history of civilization.
There were more, especially as I went into my all too brief teaching career, like Camus, Melville (moby-dick is now my favorite novel), and of course Orwell, one of my hero’s, and Hannah Arendt, whose work I found incredibly interesting in my mid 20’s. But that would be a much longer response ;)
Writers more than books for me. Probably Paul Daughtery (sports columnist) gave me some inspiration about how rich writing could be. Later Bob Greene (also a newspaper guy). But I'd like to think that David Gutterson and Wendell Berry are the shadows I stand in and from who I try to throw a similar shadow. Ambitious but it's a target. Lol. Thanks for the prompt.
I need to read more cool books like you. I’ve always wanted to read Lovecraft and Kafka but don’t know where to start.
Some of his novels are better than others, Danny, but Moviegoer certainly opened my eyes to the interplay of story and philosophy - Kierkegaard was also a strong influence on Percy. And, through him, I discovered the treasure that is A Confederacy of Dunces. Happy days!
Watershed from non-fiction to fiction focus was Walker Percy’s, The Moviegoer. Haven’t looked back.
This made me think about the books in my parents book shelves, almost all of which I'd read by the time I was around eleven (regardless of their appropriateness!). The most influential and aspirational was War and Peace, which I recognized as something important although I didn't know quite why. I found it hard going, and started it a number of times - I didn't manage to finish it until I was twenty.