Inspired by this post:
Geek Mom Sarah Pinault describes it as “not books that
changed my life through ‘because it’s great’, but books that you can use to
pinpoint a change in your life, a change in your way of thinking, your growth
be it emotional or otherwise.”
I thought it was an interesting idea, and since I am in the
process of de-cluttering (which results in the removal of some books), I
thought I’d take a look at the books I choose to keep.
The first book/series that comes to mind is the Narnia
Chronicles. I read The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe in the fourth grade as part of a class reading. I remember finishing the book and immediately
heading to the library to find out if there was more. There was!
I devoured the rest of the series by the end of the year. It opened my eyes to the world outside of
Judy Blume and Mary Ingalls Wilder. By
the end of fourth grade, I’d been introduced to the Chronicles of Prydian as
well. (Yeah fantasy!)
Fifth Grade for me was a defining year. A lot happened in my personal life. My Dad spent
the year stationed in Korea and my Mom hurt her back and spent several months
unable to do much. I learned a lot about
responsibility that year, as I learned to cook, clean and take care of my
little brother. Thank goodness for my
godparents, who helped with things like yardwork and errands.
That same year, I had the most amazing teacher who
introduced me to a whole world of books.
Mr. Nesbit introduced me to Mystery novels (first Trixie Belden, and
then Nancy Drew), Shakespeare (we put on A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Madeleine
L'Engle.
He had this corner in his room that was wrapped in
books. I remember reading book after
book.
That same year, my mom was reading Dragons of Autumn
Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
When she finished the book, she handed it to me. By the end of the year, I’d finished all
three books in the series… and thrown my first book across a room.
In terms of changing my life, I think being introduced to
Shakespeare so young gave me a love of English and Literature that has carried
all the way through my adult life. Mr.
Nesbit kept the essence of the story while shortening the lines to make it
easier for 10 year olds to memorize. It
gave me my first performance on stage and I remember reading more of the plays
(in their original form) that same year.
Though a lot of the jokes went over my head, as I learned when reading
it later in college, I remember reading it with a dictionary beside me and
learning a whole new vocabulary.
Trixie and Nancy were female detectives. I think more than anything, they started me
down the path of belief that a woman can be anything, even something that was
bit dangerous. Growing up, I wanted to
be a pilot. Unfortunately, my eyesight
was too bad to fly in the military. (Ah, well.)
I still love the fearlessness of both characters and while I am not
anything like either, I like to think I have tried to bring some of that
fearlessness into my life.
Then came Dragonlance.
Dragonlance (DL) opened my world to “adult” books. That is, books written for adults not kids or
even young adults. Once I started
reading DL, I never went back to young adult books. I remember going to the bookstore and
starting in the fantasy/science fiction section. From DL, I learned about Anne McCaffrey,
Piers Anthony, Terry Brooks, and of course, Tolkien. Once introduced to Fantasy novels, I
eventually made it to Science Fiction, devouring Robert Heinlein and Ray
Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451 OMG!), though I never could get into Asimov for some
reason.
Shortly thereafter, my mom brought home Mercedes Lackey’s
Arrows and Last Herald Mage trilogies.
Mercedes was the first person who wrote about “shay’a’chern” or gay
relationships. I think having been
introduced to it in novels so young, is why I’ve never really been bothered by
the concept of gay relationships or marriage.
In fact, it’s very likely that the stories made it so not only does it
not bother me, but I feel strongly enough to have voted for and continue to
support same-sex equality in marriage and in other laws.
There are probably tons more books that influenced my life.
From the Star Wars novels of Aaron Allston, Mike Stackpole and Timothy Zahn, to
the Forgotten Realms stories of Elaine Cunningham & RA Salvatore, there are
tons of books that inspired me to become an author in my own right.
I knew he was different, in his sexuality/
I went to his parties, as the straight minority/
It never seemed a threat to my masculinity/
He only introduced me to a wider reality.
~Rush, Nobody's Hero
