There are four authors who could write a story on a paper towel and I'd read them. Tad Williams, King, Gaiman, and Atwood.
Tad Williams, if anyone is curious, is best known for his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. His influences being "The Once and Future King" and of course Tolkien. Now here's some trivia for you.....George Martin's Game of Thrones books? HE was inspired by Tad to write those.
I was actually able to spend some time with Tad Williams at a convention when I lived in the Bay Area. He’s super nice and very personable. I enjoyed Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, but I think my favorite one of his is Otherland. It’s dated now, but when it was released that was high concept science fiction.
Heh, It'd be more like mop me up off the floor from fangirling so much. Said squealing happened at work, in the Time Before, when I was working at Barnes and Noble. I was on break, headed outside to smoke, checking Facebook and saw it. I squealed, my store manager gave me a funny look and I all but hollered "TAD WILLIAMS IS MY FACEBOOK FRIEND" Her response? That's great Kim, go have your smoke. (She actually loved that I was a huge fan because I could always sell his books)
Literature brought me back to Christianity after a lifetime of atheism. Of course, I'm not a Protestant and find a lot of what I don't like about the modern world rooted in its conceptual framework.
Absolutely. The novel that opened the door for my return, more like started me on the path was The Brothers Karamazov. I initially read it my senior year of High School and at that time I was in my atheist phase(which lasted almost two decades) and I identified with Ivan. Almost two decades later, on a re-read, I realized that I've been both Ivan and Dimitry in my life and that path can lead to Smerdyakov but if one reflects one can look at Alyosha.
The part of your comment where you talk about rereading Dostoevsky reminds me of how much I loved Frank Herbert’s Dune when I first read it as a teen. I re-read it as an adult and discovered that now I identified with the father figure rather than the son. It was an interesting experience.
A very personal and beautifully written post, Shaina. I really enjoyed reading this and learning what these books meant to you (as well as, as always, throwing a few onto my TBR list!)
PS currently thoroughly engrossed with 'Salems Lot! Tension builds.
I’m so happy to hear that. I’ve never read Dracula, but I think I need to in order to fully understand Salems Lot. Are you into vampires? Just curious as to whether I’m missing out and need to indulge or King just hits it out of the park on this one.
I'm the same. Not read. Though I did go to Romania and visit Bran Castle.
Vampires and zombies are genres that are so saturated for me, which might be why I never bothered with SL previously. But I'm glad to be reading it and to see how he handles the vampire genre.
Shaina, i loved this post, especially your honesty about what you didn’t know and what you learned, the personal impact of reading - and yes, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is one of Flannery O’Connor’s greatest stories - funny, sharply observant, and an unflinching look at nihilism..
There are four authors who could write a story on a paper towel and I'd read them. Tad Williams, King, Gaiman, and Atwood.
Tad Williams, if anyone is curious, is best known for his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. His influences being "The Once and Future King" and of course Tolkien. Now here's some trivia for you.....George Martin's Game of Thrones books? HE was inspired by Tad to write those.
I was actually able to spend some time with Tad Williams at a convention when I lived in the Bay Area. He’s super nice and very personable. I enjoyed Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, but I think my favorite one of his is Otherland. It’s dated now, but when it was released that was high concept science fiction.
I'm facebook friends with him and his wife. When he accepted my friend request I squealed like a little girl. And yea, Otherland is a good one!
We need video of you squealing like a little girl over Tad Williams.
Heh, It'd be more like mop me up off the floor from fangirling so much. Said squealing happened at work, in the Time Before, when I was working at Barnes and Noble. I was on break, headed outside to smoke, checking Facebook and saw it. I squealed, my store manager gave me a funny look and I all but hollered "TAD WILLIAMS IS MY FACEBOOK FRIEND" Her response? That's great Kim, go have your smoke. (She actually loved that I was a huge fan because I could always sell his books)
Never read any Tad W.
Seems like I need to read some Tad W 😁 Recommended book to start with?
Um...all of them? 😜
Seriously, start with "The Dragonbone Chair".
Awesome, thanks.
What a beautiful post! You clearly have achieved so much in your life, and it's inspiring to read about the books that helped you do it.
Thanks for reading Joseph! I wouldn’t say I’ve achieved much but I’m here!
Flannery O'Conner was amazing.
Literature brought me back to Christianity after a lifetime of atheism. Of course, I'm not a Protestant and find a lot of what I don't like about the modern world rooted in its conceptual framework.
I also love this dichotomy. A book that leads one person to leave their church can bring another person to the same faith. It’s all so individual.
I love Flannery O’Connor! I’m about to re-read her short story collection.
Absolutely. The novel that opened the door for my return, more like started me on the path was The Brothers Karamazov. I initially read it my senior year of High School and at that time I was in my atheist phase(which lasted almost two decades) and I identified with Ivan. Almost two decades later, on a re-read, I realized that I've been both Ivan and Dimitry in my life and that path can lead to Smerdyakov but if one reflects one can look at Alyosha.
The part of your comment where you talk about rereading Dostoevsky reminds me of how much I loved Frank Herbert’s Dune when I first read it as a teen. I re-read it as an adult and discovered that now I identified with the father figure rather than the son. It was an interesting experience.
Ah the ending if this post brought a tear to my eye. I love this life raft metaphor. Thanks for sharing these personal life rafts with us.
And I haven't started Salem's Lot yet 😬😬😬
A very personal and beautifully written post, Shaina. I really enjoyed reading this and learning what these books meant to you (as well as, as always, throwing a few onto my TBR list!)
PS currently thoroughly engrossed with 'Salems Lot! Tension builds.
I’m so happy to hear that. I’ve never read Dracula, but I think I need to in order to fully understand Salems Lot. Are you into vampires? Just curious as to whether I’m missing out and need to indulge or King just hits it out of the park on this one.
I'm the same. Not read. Though I did go to Romania and visit Bran Castle.
Vampires and zombies are genres that are so saturated for me, which might be why I never bothered with SL previously. But I'm glad to be reading it and to see how he handles the vampire genre.
Shaina, i loved this post, especially your honesty about what you didn’t know and what you learned, the personal impact of reading - and yes, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is one of Flannery O’Connor’s greatest stories - funny, sharply observant, and an unflinching look at nihilism..
Thank you for sharing this journey. I think books can certainly be life rafts or even sandbags when life or harmful forces are flooding in