10 Books that Influenced Me
Yesterday marissameyer put up a blog post about the books that had influenced her, which then got me thinking. So here is my list of books that have either taught me something about reading or writing.
In the order I first read them:
1. Goosebumps: Taught me that some people just won't like my books. The whole reason I even read any of the Goosebumps books as a kid was because my Mum used to buy/borrow them to try and encourage my brother to read. But he just wasn't interested, so I read them instead. So I learnt that there will be people that just aren't interested in my books or reading at all. And that's okay, because there will likely be just as many people who are.
2. Anne of Green Gables: Taught me how to fangirl, long before the term had been invented. And that a love/hate relationship is always awesome. (Gilbert Blythe was my first true literary crush :D)
3. Lord of the Rings: Taught me the word EDIT. I know I'm pretty much in the minority here, but as much as I think it's an excellent story, I really don't think that there needs to be as much description as there is in these books.
4. Pride and Prejudice: Taught me that love is timeless. And that a great love story can last for an eternity.
5. Harry Potter series: Taught me about world-building, and how amazing and fun it can be.
6. Tomorrow when the War Began: In fact, just anything really by John Marsden. He taught me that YA isn't all fluff and bunnies. That you can go to darker depths without having to sugarcoat things.
7. Farenheit 451: Taught me that sci-fi can be awesome. :D
8. Gone with the Wind: Taught me that a great character should be flawed. That we can both love and hate the protagonist at the same time.
9. My Place: Taught me that it is possible to actually loathe a book. My Place by Sally Morgan is the only book I've never finished. Up until I had to study it for my HSC in Year 12, I hadn't realised that I could dislike a book so much (until that point, I had generally liked or loved everything I had read).
10. Twilight: As much as I was obsessed with it for a short timespan (when I first read all four books just about in one go), it wasn't long before I realised that the writing isn't really that good. As a result, it has taught me not to settle in my writing. To always strive to make my stories the absolute best that they can be.
Interestingly enough, the majority of this list I read before I even knew I wanted to be a writer. Numbers 1-8 were all read between the ages of ten and fifteen, long before I had even attempted writing fanfiction. No real extra point there, just something I found interesting. :)
In the order I first read them:
1. Goosebumps: Taught me that some people just won't like my books. The whole reason I even read any of the Goosebumps books as a kid was because my Mum used to buy/borrow them to try and encourage my brother to read. But he just wasn't interested, so I read them instead. So I learnt that there will be people that just aren't interested in my books or reading at all. And that's okay, because there will likely be just as many people who are.
2. Anne of Green Gables: Taught me how to fangirl, long before the term had been invented. And that a love/hate relationship is always awesome. (Gilbert Blythe was my first true literary crush :D)
3. Lord of the Rings: Taught me the word EDIT. I know I'm pretty much in the minority here, but as much as I think it's an excellent story, I really don't think that there needs to be as much description as there is in these books.
4. Pride and Prejudice: Taught me that love is timeless. And that a great love story can last for an eternity.
5. Harry Potter series: Taught me about world-building, and how amazing and fun it can be.
6. Tomorrow when the War Began: In fact, just anything really by John Marsden. He taught me that YA isn't all fluff and bunnies. That you can go to darker depths without having to sugarcoat things.
7. Farenheit 451: Taught me that sci-fi can be awesome. :D
8. Gone with the Wind: Taught me that a great character should be flawed. That we can both love and hate the protagonist at the same time.
9. My Place: Taught me that it is possible to actually loathe a book. My Place by Sally Morgan is the only book I've never finished. Up until I had to study it for my HSC in Year 12, I hadn't realised that I could dislike a book so much (until that point, I had generally liked or loved everything I had read).
10. Twilight: As much as I was obsessed with it for a short timespan (when I first read all four books just about in one go), it wasn't long before I realised that the writing isn't really that good. As a result, it has taught me not to settle in my writing. To always strive to make my stories the absolute best that they can be.
Interestingly enough, the majority of this list I read before I even knew I wanted to be a writer. Numbers 1-8 were all read between the ages of ten and fifteen, long before I had even attempted writing fanfiction. No real extra point there, just something I found interesting. :)