Things I’m Thankful For – Day Two: Books
If music has been a powerful influence in my life, so have books. I was reading well before first grade (I never went to kindergarten), and books have been a source of pleasure ever since. Somehow my parents instilled a love of reading in all of us–books were never just something required for school, they were entertainment. We wanted to read.
That may be because my mother read to us. My mother is an excellent, fluid reader, able to change her vocal inflections on the fly and breath life into the words where many people struggle just to form the words. Had she been born fifty years later she might have had a career as an audiobook narrator. I remember many wonderful hours gathered around Mom as she read to us, and not just as little kids, either. She would read–and we’d gladly listen–well into my teen years.
It’s a tradition I passed on to my kids, and I hope they have as fond memories of my reading as I do of my mother’s.
Books have always been special things. Oh, that didn’t keep us from using them for other purposes–we were kids, after all, and an entire set of hardbound children’s books of identical size were impossible to resist as construction materials–but we did try to take decent care of them. If books were damaged is was usually from being loved to death, not mistreatment.
Libraries, likewise, became portals to wonder, and a library card a passport. I remember the thrill of being able to choose my own books to read, and I’m pretty sure I read every single Dan Frontier and Sailor Jack book ever written, and most of the Secret Seven series to boot. Then I graduated to the Star Trek tie-in novels and read most of the ones written during the 1970s and early 80s. My brother-in-law (at least I’m pretty sure it was him) introduced me to Terry Brooks’ “The Sword of Shannara”, which in turned launched me into writing. It was also the gateway drug by which he lure me into more hardcore stuff, like Tolkien.
My brother got me into Tom Clancy in the 80s, as well as Asimov, Clarke, and other sci-fi writers when he became a member of the Science Fiction Book Club. That may also be where I was introduced to Orson Scott Card and “Ender’s Game”, which led to his other Enderverse books and his Alvin Maker books (which he didn’t write fast enough and I somehow lost track of). That same brother, years later, via his daughter, would introduce me to Brandon Sanderson, opening up another rich vein of literary gold, though I confess “Elantris” didn’t thrill me (it would take “Legion” and “The Rithmatist” to really hook me). He also introduced me to Michael J. Sullivan, who has become my inspiration as a writer.
My own kids have become a source of new discoveries of late. My boys introduced me to the fun and adventure of John Flanagan’s “The Ranger’s Apprentice” series, while my daughter has helped fuel my love of Sanderson (“Stormlight Archive” and “Reckoners”), Dan Wells’ “John Cleaver” books, as well as introducing me to a few others here and there. She’s lately been lobbying me to add “The Count of Monte Cristo” to my reading list. Should I ever run out of books to try I can always count on my kids to load me up again.
I’m not as prolific a reader of non-fiction, but I do read it, and often enjoy it thoroughly. I’m especially fond of history and biography, though I’ve found I’m perhaps more successful with those when I let someone else do the reading. I’ve taken a break from audiobooks for a while, but they’ve had a significant impact in my life as well.
I’m a firm believer that the stories we enjoy help shape our view of the world and, in some ways, who we are. I’m grateful for the countless books throughout my life that have helped get me through the years and guided my thinking. They have been my refuge from the world and my window into it. I’ve been entertained, challenged, enlightened, and inspired throughout my life by the printed word. I feel a little sorry for those who don’t like to read (though I imagine the feeling is mutual), but perhaps they weren’t introduced the way I was.
I love books, and adore libraries, and I will always cherish the many happy hours I’ve spent between the pages of a book.