List 43 books or authors that have influenced me, and say why

^{alright, it’s the homestretch so here we go:}

Kurt Vonnegut – one of my all time favorite authors. his random yet structured writing style and humor are right up my alley. reminds me of mark twain sometimes.

Douglas Adams – another favorite. best nonsensical satire around.

H.G. Wells – thoroughly involving good storytelling. and quick reads which i always appreciate.

George Orwell – before discovering vonnegut, i had orwell. he’s darker though and not nearly as funny.

Aldous Huxley – brave new world took me totally by surprise. i don’t know what i was expecting exactly, but not that.

Ray Bradbury – you can’t love books and not appreciate Fahrenheit 451. simple law of literary nature.

Alfred Bester – this guy confuses the hell out of me sometimes. and i love it. The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination.

Ursula Le Guin – Eye of the Heron was the first scifi book i ever read and so it has a special place for me. there’s also The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. she’s very issues oriented. and the only female scifi writer on this list.

Robert A. Heinlein – moon is a harsh mistress reminds me of a grown up ender’s game for some reason. but without the weird aliens.

Phillip K. Dick – do androids dream of electric sheep? this one is in the same boat as Bester, only much closer to the deep end. The Divine Invasion is the one I always think of when I think of him.

Tad Williams – otherland was just the right story at the right time for me. i’ve read Gibson’s Neuromancer as well, but it just didn’t hit the same chord with me. too much like a western i think. otherland is more of an adventure story.

Italo Calvino – Cosmicomics – science fiction fairytales. who wouldn’t love that. the Grimm Brothers pale in comparison.

...and another list gone, and another list gone…

ideas and opinions by einstein. i read this because i thought reading what einstein wrote might make some of his brains rub off on me. not sure it worked, but he’s an interesting fellow with many very interesting ideas and opinions, and the talent to write clearly about them. his views on religion helped me in reevaluating mine to some extent.

a brief history of time by hawking. i read this book for similar reasons as above, but also in both cases because i believe that it doesn’t take a genius to understand science when it’s explained well. coming up with the ideas initially, yes. but understanding the ideas, no. i actually didn’t really like hawking’s writing style as much. it felt like i was being talked down to, which of course, i’m sure i was. the writing was clear enough however and left me with a greater understanding of modern physics.

the selfish gene by dawkins. dawkins really gave me a new perspective on evolution. not that i agree entirely with his theories, but coming straight out of a sheltered catholic school, they were pretty extraordinary, if perceptively radical, to me at the time. the idea that everything, including cultural values and personal taste, could be controlled by what amounts to sentient genes and natural selection was fairly surprising to me. i didn’t know you could write or even think things like that and still be considered a respectable biologist.

i’m an escapist. i admit it. no particular order.

^{ursula le guin and margaret atwood- scifi/fantasy and philosophy – a match made in heaven.}

robin hobb for her vivid, detailed, and original fantasy worlds.

terry pratchett, because life on the back of a giant turtle really is that much fun and no one can intellectuallize the genre better than him.

michael moorcock – his lead character is a dark and brooding genius albino with serious family issues.

Steven Brust – witty and fun. and a fan of Dumas.

Tolkien – who else could make such a long walk so compelling?

Elizabeth Moon – for The Deed of Paksennarion – an interesting take on women in the military.

Patricia Wrede – Dealing with Dragons – for a younger crowd typically, but does a great job of mixing up the traditional fairytale/fantasy storyline.

Barry Hughart – A Bridge of Birds – a fantasy set in midieval China, with lots of humor, mythology, and heroism.

Lewis Carroll – like a tea-tray in the sky

Stephen Lawhead – i quite liked his take on the King Arthur tale. made me want to go read up on the well-known characters.

William Goldman – The Princess Bride. this story has everything,, but most of all it has humor. it gives greater detail than the film.

George R. R. Martin – because structuring a fantasy on the war of the roses was a great idea.

Mervyn Peake – because structuring a fantasy on WWII was a great idea.

Garth Nix – the abhorsen trilogy – the only books involving zombies that i have ever liked.

Guy Gavriel Kay – tigiana – poetry as literature

C.S. Lewis – i think i’m obligated to put him here because i was raised catholic. i remember enjoying him as a kid, but rereading him hasn’t been easy. the man himself though was amazing and i really like how he put his books together.

Gregory Maguire because he reminds me to take a different perspective on things.

i’m sure this list is incomplete, yet completely makes me look like a total fantasy geek. which i likely am. fantasy makes up about a third of what i read. fantasy/scifi makes up probably about half of the books i read. and the rest i split between modern lit and ‘weightier’ items.

Don Quixote was the book that showed me that old books could be funny.

The Three Musketeers was the book that showed me that old books could be exciting.

Plato's Republic (complete) was the book that introduced me to basic philosophy.

The Ten Books on Architecture was the book that introduced me to architectural theory.

Brave New World, Catch 22, and Cat's Cradle were my introduction (i think) to satire and proof to me that there really is such a thing as a “modern classic”.

High Tide in Tucson was the first naturalist book that i recall reading and identifying with. This book is a collection of short essays, but throughout Kingsolver’s works, fiction and nonfiction, there is definitely a feeling of naturalistic spirituality that I can really relate to.

Walden Or, Life in the Woods and “on the Duty of Civil Disobedience” was my second and perhaps more influential naturalist book. i also appreciate thoreau for his role in introducing me to american transcendentalism. (yay high school english!)

my environmental and naturalist leanings were further encouraged later on, when i read works of John Muir and Aldo Leopold in college.

However, it was a fiction book, The Loop, which lead me to choose a career in the field. managing natural resources requires walking a fine line between the needs of nature and the desires of people. this book does a great job of demonstrating that.

this is the book that got me interested in books, so i sort of have to mention it, even though it’s kind of embarrassing in some respects. Tamora Pierce is a big hit these days, but when i first read her back in 1985, i did my best to hide the fact that i was reading her books. why? well, not because of the author really. more because this is a fantasy book. a fantasy book about a girl knight. about a girl knight who also welds purple magic. and who has periods and sex and stuff. people nowadays won’t think twice about such a plot i suppose, but at the time it still earned me some sideways looks, particularly from my parents and peers (girls and boys alike).

i did the forebidden thing in 2000 and gushed to Tamora by email about how much her books meant to me, and have subsequently never heard a word back from her, as promised, but i’m glad i did it anyway. this series and her Immortals series in particular really opened literary doors for me, and made me contemplate more seriously women’s roles in society and literature.