I'm interested to know what, if any novel in particular, filled you with a surge to read. For me, when I was a young boy, my grandfather stopped by one day with a box of old sci-fi / fantasy novels. He gave me all of them, and while I didn't appreciate them as much as I would now, I ended up reading one novel in particular that influenced me into the path of book-hood.
That book was actually a series of novels called "The Chronicles of Amber" written by Roger Zelazny.
This novel started me down a path, or adventure, which helped shape my adolescent mind. It stretched my left brain and forced me to read with a dictionary (An act that I hear isn't as uncommon amongst readers as I had thought). I fell in love with the book and eventually read the second and third etc...
Eventually it led me to read other novels in the fantasy genre, but much like a first kiss, the memory of Zelazny's series continued to prevail in my mind as my favorite fantasy novel.
So, without further adieu, I'd like to know what book really "set you off," as a reader.
4 comments:
I keep meaning to pick up the Amber series but just haven't yet-I will eventually.
The book that probably set me off was The Hobbit.
If you have any desire to read the Amber series, I would highly recommend it. I loved it and can't count the number of times I've read it over and over.
As for the Hobbit, I'm also a fan. (Who isn't though right?) LOL. That was such a great book!
I've heard lots of good things for years and its one of those I have meant to start and just hadn't gotten around to yet.
I remember the Hobbit because I saw a movie poster for the original animated feature the day my Mom was signing me up for kidergarten in a new town and I asked her what it was. She later read it to me and as soon as I could I read it myself and it really pushed me toward the idea of storytelling.
I read the Amber books. I have this one in particular, the SF book club edition. There was a 2 volume set containing the first five novels. I liked them quite a lot.
But, the books that truly set me off on a fantasy kick were the Barsoom books of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The John Carter stories were such an influence on me. In fact, the Talera series of mine is an homage to those great old sword & planet thrillers.
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