Ten Books

had a meme suggestion: Ten books that influenced you as a young reader. Not only does it let folks in on your likes and dislikes, but also can be very revealing about us – if you accept the notion that what we read forms who we are.

Here are my ten:

1. D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire.

2. A Tolkien Bestiary by David Day

3. Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker by Alan Dean Foster (writing as George Lucas).

4. Dune by Frank Herbert

5. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

6. Monster Manual by Gary Gygax, Et. Al.

7. Buckaroo Banzai by Earl Mac Rauch

8. Conan of Cimmeria by Robert E. Howard

9. Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke

10. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle

I’ve stretched the definition of “young reader” to as late as 15 in my case, but that’s OK, I think.

3 Replies to “Ten Books”

  1. 1. “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”
    2. “War of the Worlds”
    3. “The Man of Bronze”
    4. “Toynbee on History”
    5. “Bullfinch’s Mythology”
    6. “The Maltese Falcon”
    7. “Lucky Starr, Space Ranger”
    8. “Flying Saucers: Serious Business”
    9. “The Three Musketeers”
    10. “The Rover Boys”

  2. You know, when I saw that there was one comment, I knew it would be from you! Let me see if I can remember ten:
    1. The Secret Garden
    2. Sara Crewe
    3. Arabian Nights
    4. Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy (I was raised as a Christian Scientist, so I had to read it/have it read to me, and it certainly did shape me!)
    5. Tom Sawyer
    6. All the Nancy Drew series!
    7. Biography of Harriet Tubman
    8. Various Bible stories, but my favorite was David and Goliath.
    9. Heidi
    10. Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia (a full encyclopedia that had lots of pics and stories, too! I still have them!

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