The Cascade of Passion

[sartorias]

But the relationship between reader and writer is, first and foremost, skinless--and that's why it is often so strong.

Four writers whose work hit me hard as a kid reader and writer; have you read them? Do you want to talk about writers who shaped you as a reader and writer?

Comments

[kalimac]

I've read both of Pope's books, and one or two of Snyder's (I remember The Egypt Game). And I met them both at Mythcons. But the author of that kind whom I also met at a Mythcon, and whose books I read at a younger age and which were more meaningful to me was Carol Kendall.

[sartorias]

Oh, I remember discovering The Gammage Cup in college. I loved it, though I think it would have had a greater impact if I'd found it younger. I bet she was a lovely person.

[whswhs]

Those weekly library visits were a big feature of my life as well.

The writers who remain memorable to me include several who are familiar names: I read Kipling, not only the Jungle Books and Just So Stories, but story collections such as Plain Tales from the Hills; Heinlein's juveniles published by Charles Scribner's Sons; and The Hobbit, which I found on the bookshelf in my sixth grade classroom. I read a few of the Oz books, but they were hard to locate, as back then libraries didn't think they were suitable reading for children, or so I was told; and I'm sorry to say that I can no longer enjoy most of them, because there are too many passages that show that Baum didn't take them seriously.

As to less familiar books, I read Edward Eager's fantasy novels, which as it happens were full of weekly visits to the library-in fact the last of them is titled Seven-Day Magic. They have some surprisingly serious notes, such as the implication in Knight's Castle that Roger's adventures are rewarded by his father's recovery from serious

[whswhs]

I suspect one can take it the way one wants, but I read skinless as gender/ethnicity/etc free, in other words, mind to mind.

My childhood sf were the Mushroom planet books.

[sartorias]

Sigh. That was me--LJ had logged me out.

[sartorias]

Hee! Oh, The Blue Sword has been a tight fave of mine since it came out. Same with The Hero and the Crown! I think if I'd had those as a kid I probably would have stolen them from the library, and thus embarked on a life of crime as a book thief!

[sartorias]

That is so wonderful when beloved books still hold up!

[deborahjross]

I'm delighted to see how much our lists overlap.

[rachelmanija]

I've read all the authors you mention, but Speare and Snyder were the ones I read when I was a kid. Pope, in my teens. I loved The Perilous Gard, but didn't find The Sherwood Ring until much later.

I loved fantasy and science fiction but to a certain extent you had to search for it. There are certain book I can still remember finding in the library: Lloyd Alexander's Westmark, Vonda McIntyre's Dreamsnake, the MagicQuest books which included several books by Diana Wynne Jones, Robin McKinley, Andre Norton's The Stars Are Ours! I read and re-read those, and hunted through used bookshops for more.

There was plenty more fantasy available - I read all the 80s funny fantasy books, Robert Asprin and Piers Anthony and so forth - but they didn't stick with me.

I think what made books really stand out for me, looking at that list, is the idea that good things don't come easily; that you can find love and magic and a purpose, but at a price. All of the books I loved best are bittersweet to some degree.

[asakiyume]

Your remarks about Westmark in posts elsewhere have made me determined to reread them. I loved them when they came out, but never went back to them.

[sartorias]

That's a good observation. The Pope was OP for decades. Won no awards, but I suspect that it stayed with readers who later got into publishing, as it experienced reprint and renewed popularity.