Seven Books that Changed my Life
May 21, 2015
Long before I was a writer I was a voracious reader. I’ve read thousands of books in my life time. But there are seven that really changed my life. Some of them turned me into a reader, some of them spoke to my soul. And some of them convinced me that I wanted to write.
Here’s they are in the order I read them.
The Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I read these books when I was ten. They were the first real novels I’d ever read, with real, grown up people in them. And let me say that no one could buckle a swash like John Carter, Warlord of Mars. And the love story between John Carter and Deja Thoris, Princess of the Red Race was . . . well . . . scandalous. My fourth grade teacher told my mother I shouldn’t be reading this book. My mother told my fourth grade teacher to shut her mouth. (Way to go, Mom!)
Red Planet by Robert Heinlein. Another Martian story. But, hey it was the 1960s and going to Mars didn’t seem so insurmountable. This book introduced me to Robert Heinlein. It was like a gateway drug, opening up all kinds of vistas populated by authors like Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. I have the entire works of all of these deans of Science Fiction. This was all I read until . . .
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, which I read in seventh grade. I might never have read it were it not for my aunt who thought it was a darn shame that a young lady such as myself was addicted to what she called “boys’ books.” I discovered that “girls’ books” was a euphemism for romance. But I didn’t learn that for a long, long time. In any case, Aunt Annie thrust Jane Eyre into my hands and my life was never quite the same after that. That summer, I read the entire works of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte. I was hooked on romance, but I didn’t know it. I thought these books were just “girls’ books.”
The Once and Future King by T.H. White. Fantasy and romance. Together? Along with a great children’s story featuring a sword in a stone? What was not to like? I read this book in ninth grade. It was the gateway to Marion Zimmer Bradley and many other reiterations of the Arthurian story, followed by the discovery of JRR Tolkein, CS Lewis and the Ursula LeGuin’s incomparable Earthsea Trilogy. I have to say that almost 50 years later, I’m still reading these kinds of stories. I just love big complicated fantasies with an enormous cast of characters, not to mention swordplay and a good love story or two.
Exodus by Leon Uris. I read this book in eleventh grade. It was probably my first historical novel. I was hooked. I read every Leon Uris book (Mila 18 and Trinity both made me weep) and then blew through Michener and many others. I loved Uris’s books because they always had great, but tragic, love stories in them. (Can you see where this is leading….)
The Gamble by Lavyrle Spencer. Flash forward decades, during which I read lots of SF, Fantasy, and historical novels. But something drew me into the romance aisle of my local bookstore one day. I picked up The Gamble, an American-set historical romance. Oh. My. Goodness. Talk about crack to an addict. Spenser’s historicals are meticulously researched, always feature a great emotional story, and have a happy ever after ending. Talk about “girls’ books” — I couldn’t get enough.
Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I read this book about ten years after I started reading romance. It was the first time I picked up a contemporary romance that really sang to me. The humor was amazing. Reading SEP’s books made me think that I could put my quirky sense of humor to work instead of fighting it all the time. She made me realize that I was not meant to write tragic stories, even though I loved to read them.
And the rest is history. It should come as no surprise that I write books with a little bit of paranormal in them, with big casts of characters, emotional stories, and some quirky humor. Somehow the books I’ve read and loved, ultimately shaped the writer I have become.
So, whether you’re a reader or a writer, what’s your list of books that brought you to this point in life?
April 27, 2015
Just a little update. I overcame my inertia (See the post Entropy and my Garden) and worked on the garden this Saturday. It was a chilly cloudy day. And I was so sore on Sunday I stayed put and knitted all day. But here are the results of my labors:
8 bags of weeds came out of the front yard! No wonder my back is aching.
But now the Phlox really shines
Here’s a close-up of the purple tulips
Edible weeds — Spring Onions that went into my salad instead of the trash.
April 24, 2015
The Georgia Good Ol’ Boy is an engineer and an avid consumer of science fiction. Recently, he and my brother, who I will refer to as the Connecticut Yankee (even though he lives in Massachusetts), have teamed up to write blog about stuff that, quite frankly, breaks my brain. (You can read their blog at www.betweenuniverses.com.)
So the other day the Good Ol’ Boy turns to me and says, “Do you think entropy and evolution are mutually exclusive?”
I was tempted to explain to him that when I use the term “mutually exclusive,” it usually has something to do with a relationship between a man and a woman who are on the point of forming a couple. So I made one of those noises that sounds sort of like I was paying attention and just kept on knitting.
Later, when he wasn’t around, I looked up the meaning of entropy. There are a lot of definitions of it at dictionary.com, and the only one I understood was: “a doctrine of inevitable social decline and degeneration.” The rest of the definitions were scientific and had to do with the laws of thermodynamics. Basically the universe is losing heat or something like that. Or maybe it means that chaos reigns. Whatever…
The Good Ol’ Boy has been talking about entropy for days now. And, really, I’m so happy he’s got something to keep his mind occupied. But still all this science talk is starting to get to me.
Take this morning for example. As we walked down the front path to the car I pointed to my garden, where the phlox is blooming along with the tulips. Unfortunately, in amongst the perennials and spring bulbs I’ve got chick weed, spring onions, dandelions, and half a dozen other species of weeds. In short, the garden is a complete mess.
“See that,” I said. “The weeds are a perfect example of entropy. They are turning my order into chaos. And the reason that is happening is because of inertia — as in, I am having trouble finding the energy to get off my backside and go out and weed.”
The good ol’ boy laughed, which he does whenever I crack a lame joke. This is why I’ve kept him around, even though, recently he’s taken to asking me existential questions right in the middle of Mad Men. . .
Here is a picture of my weedy garden.
Chick weed, dandelions, and spring onions encroach on the phlox in my garden.
So, what’s causing chaos and disorder (AKA entropy) at your house?
