Seven Books that Changed my Life
Posted on 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?
