Books That Most Influenced You

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Amos
Date: 29 Jun 03 - 11:07 PM

I doubt it made much difference in my main life as I have lived it, Jackquie, but it did broaden my theoretical horizons as to how to conceive of the universe. As for required reading, it depends entirely on what club ou are trying to join!! :>)



A

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Rapparee
Date: 30 Jun 03 - 08:54 AM

Dear lord. Books? In my case, bibliomaniac that I am, I can't rightly say. Everything I've read has influenced me one way or t'other.

My mother used to read her four kids the stuff from the "Morte D'Arthur" when I was about 6 or 7. Later, when I was studying it in college she read the textbook (in a night) and said, "What sort of studying is this? I read this to you years and years ago."

Authors, more likely. Heinlein. Clarke. Jefferson. Twain. Shera. Butler. King. Anonymous. Keats. Pope. Yeats. Joyce. Shakespeare. Donne. Steinem. Hoffer. Hawking. Asimov. Cervantes. Moliere. Goldsmith. Tennyson. Schiller. Baudelaire. Doyle. Freeman. Stabenow. Hillerman. Herge. Franklin. Hitler. Berton. Marx. Smith. Veblen. Aquinas. Plato. Bible. Tzu. Confucius. Fuller. Marsall. Montagu. Dostoyevsky. Tolstoy. Amergin. Bridget. Burns. Scott.

The above is not in any particular order, nor does it reflect only positive influences, since what ideas you reject define you as much as those you embrace.

I think I'll stop and not list every author I've ever read, even if I could remember them all.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: GUEST,Heidi F.
Date: 30 Jun 03 - 09:04 AM

Most definitely "The Happy Hooker" by Xaviera Hollander. An inspiring tale that set me on the path to my life's work.

xxxoooxxx

Heidi

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Wolfgang
Date: 30 Jun 03 - 06:29 PM

Two books have made me change my opinion radically at different times in my life.

Robert Havemann's 'Dialektik ohne Dogma' has made me see that socialism can be something very different from the 'Socialism' in East Europe.

D. Symons's 'The evolution of human sexuality' has made me change my mind radically on the influence of biology upon human behaviour. I tended to neglect it completely for mostly ideological reasons.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 30 Jun 03 - 08:56 PM

A publication known variously as "The Big Book", "The Blue Book" or "The Big Blue Book". For those who know what it is, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't know what it is, no explanation is possible.

Bruce

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: LadyJean
Date: 30 Jun 03 - 11:38 PM

When I was, perhaps, 14, I found myself in Gimbels' book department, where I spent 75cents on two volumes of Edna St. Vincent Millet's poems, and a copy of Sinclair Lewis's Babbit.
Reading Millet convinced me that I wanted to be a writer. (Though I do not write poetry.) Lewis taught me to question.
Though, I suppose the book that MOST influenced my life was James Thurber's "Is Sex Necessary?". My parents were reading it when they started dating. It was one of the things that brought them together. Obviously, they decided it WAS necessary. The book is still in print. Read it! It's a howl!

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Deckman
Date: 01 Jul 03 - 09:13 PM

I suspect that my contribution to this thread will seem quite obscure, as it is. I'm a voracious reader. I usually have several books going at the same time (I only need three hours sleep a night). However, I have to say the ONE book that has had, and continues to have, a profound influence in my life is "The Kalavala," by Ellis Lonrot, first published in 1838. I have several copies, one original in Finnish, and several English translations, the best being the "Peabody" from Indiana University about 1966. The "Kalavala" is the saga of the ancient Finns, their Gods, their stories, adventures and frequant missadventures. These stories were my Father's bedtime tales. I find them fascinating on several levels: Finnish is NOT my native language, though it was my Fathers, and I try to keep improving my language skills; the stories behind the stories help to explain my grandmother to me; and these stories help to to understand how the "old" Finnish/Russian culture evolved from the late 1800's into what I saw in America, beginning in the 30's. If you, as an American, want to explore this, I strongly suggest that you start with the Estonian version. George Goble, an American, published this version titled "The Kalavede", some years ago. I know it's out of print now, but searching will discover it, I'm sure. I suggest "The Kalevede" because it's based on one single story from "The Kalavala" and is much more readable and understable, in English. KITTOS, Bob(deckman)Nelson

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: gnu
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 06:20 AM

Trinity by Leon Uris... who just passed on. RIP.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Kim C
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 10:16 AM

How could I have forgotten... Lonesome Dove (don't mess with the other books in this series, they are cheap trash in comparison), and Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Metchosin
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 11:55 AM

LadyJean, you reminded me of one I read a long time ago entitled "Married Love" published in the 1920s or there abouts. I will never forget a picture in it of a severely handicapped child, with the caption "The Results of Conception when the Father was Intoxicated". Good grief!!!

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Micca
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 07:06 PM

etchosin if you need to refresh your memory you will find Marie Stopes book here

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Gareth
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 07:14 PM

Alanabit, glad you bring up C S Foresters "The Ship". Personally I would suggest that that book and "The General" are his two finest works. And C S F is not an author to be underrated. I an afraid the later "Hornblower" Books and the US of A varient "A Captain fron Coneticutt" (SP?) aka "Beat to Quarters", were written as a commercial/pot boiler basis for a defined audience. In fact "The Commodore " not to be confused with the 'Patrick O'Brien' book of the same name, was a propaganda effort (Published 1944), and I put it in the same category as the war time films "San Demitrio - London", and that Tommy Trinder classic "The Bells Go Down" - all superbly crafted, written and acted, but propaganda.

BTW the late Charley Horne ex RN - a resident of Whitstable, was one of the few survivors of HMS "Penelope" following her torpedoing in 1943 - I lent him a copy of "The Ship", he spent most of the "Gulf of Sirte" action closed up in the forward magazine, but yes the book rang true to him.

Ah, the memories that wern't recorded.


MAG - I really appreciate Nevil Shute's simplistic style, I would also bring to your attention some of Shute's earlier works, in particular "Pastoral" - every day life on a 'Bomber Command Base', and his two unsurpassed works on racial discrimination, and the consequences, "The Chequer Board" , and "Round the Bend", well worth reading, and reading again.

Gareth

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Susan from California
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 07:16 PM

When I was young, "The Empty Barn", which was about a little girl who moved to a farm, and slowly filled her barn with animals. It allowed me to dream. Then I moved on to the "Little House" series, which I think helped to stoke a love for American History. I also enjoyed "Harriet the Spy", A story with a strong female lead, and later, "A Wrinkle in Time" because it allowed me to escape, and the message that love can trump evil is pretty darned powerful.

Later, "To Kill a Mockingbird" because Atticus Finch was quite a role model, a model that I try to live up to, but I must admit I fall short of.

The Octavia Butler series "Parable of the Sower" etc caused me to look at life and the world in a whole different way. There are many others, but these jump out at me today. Tomorrow, it might be a slightly different list :-)

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Rapparee
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 09:08 PM

Deckman, I too think that the Kalavala is fascinating, as it offers an insight into a culture many in the West would not believe exists. I also like the Norse sagas (as preserved in Iceland), and the work of the skalds in general. To my mind, there is a whole world of literature "north of 60" to be explored -- and we "Southerners" have barely scratched the surface.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Cluin
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 09:22 PM

"The Sun Also Rises".

A perfect vacation would still be to get drunk with a wagonload of Basques and then go flyfishing.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 09:29 PM

The Games People Play
Cannot remember the author. My entire family read it. Profoundly affected our group dynamics. Probably for the better.

The Problem of Pain (C.S. Lewis)
The first step of my break with Christianity.

The Peter Principal

Buddhism, Its Essence and Development (Conze)

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 12:43 AM

Too many to list here, but will mention a couple of things. The Regeneration Trilogy, by Pat Barker: 1) Regeneration; 2)The Eye in the Door; 3) The Ghost Road. All three of them are can't-put-down books, fiction based loosely on the development of psychiatry in the treatment of battle stress during World War One, including the stories of Wilfred Owen and Sigfried Sassoon. I've read them twice, will read them again, and these are books I do not lend.

For those of you who like science fiction, read Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, and its sequel, Speaker for the Dead. Morality tales told as excellent adventure.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: alanabit
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 03:27 AM

Games People Play is by Eric Berne. I should add that it is a much loved book by psychologists, mental nurses and social workers. Back in the seventies, when I read it, it was regarded a one of the standard works on transactional analysis. It's not a novel in case anyone is looking for a holiday read!

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Deckman
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 04:18 AM

Rapaire ... you got that right! Do you read Finnish? Bob

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Deckman
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 04:31 AM

To Guest pdc ... anything by Orson Scott Card is quite wonderful Did you know that it was written as a trilogy? Bob

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 09:24 AM

Sorry Deckman, but the only word I know in Finnish is "Tak." Oh, wait, "Sako" -- but that's the name of a very, very expensive rifle I can't even begin to afford and don't need anyway. I do know some Finn jokes from the Upper Midwest, though.

Did you know that the Kalavala influenced the poem "Hiawatha"? Well, probably you did, but I bet lots of other people didn't.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Peter T.
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 09:40 AM

Completely politically incorrect, but the book that has what I think is the best feeling for Buddhism is Kipling's Kim. I never read it as a child, but knew about it (We played Kim's game a lot when I was growing up as a Boy Scout). When I read it as an adult I was amazed at the beauty of the portrayal of the Tibetan monk and his love for the boy. Kipling's father ran the museum at Lahore, so he knew quite a lot about Buddhist lore, but where he got the insight into Buddhism, I do not know. I always recommend it to people interested in Tibetan Buddhism. The monk is a perfect portrayal of some of the saintly figures I have known, with their elderly quirks. Anyone who writes knows how hard it is to write about someone surpassingly good.

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 10:41 AM

alanabit
Thanks for the reminder. I didn't realize that "Games People Play" was/is taken seriously by professionals.

Peter T.
I read and enjoyed Kim as well, but recommended Conze for the scholarship and explication of doctrine. My interest in Buddhism wasn't sparked by exceptional individuals but by the way the Four Noble Truths nail it.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Metchosin
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 11:07 AM

Wow Micca, thanks for the link! I read Stopes book when I was in my teens in the 60's, but didn't realize then, her trailblazing contribution. However, on visiting the material again, I believe I may have confused it with another I read at the time.

The book with the photo I first mentioned had a section about discovering your intended wife's personal habits, by surreptitiously inspecting her bedchamber and quarters, to see if they were tidy and clean. Also checking the cleanliness of her fingernails was a priority. If she didn't pass inspection, the gentleman was advised to seek another prospect.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: JennieG
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 01:11 AM

I don't think I could single out a small number of all the books I have readover the years...but I would have to say that the most influence I gained was from reading a book on etiquette!
Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 02:45 AM

My favorite books of my childhood include "Mike Mulligan And His Steamshovel," and "Three Young Rats," which was illustrated by Alexander Calder. I was a big Dr. Seuss fan, and what child wasn't? I was also fascinated as a small child by an art book on "African Folktales And Sculpture" my mother used to show me, along with the photographic classic "The Family Of Man." "The Fireside Book Of Folksongs" was always at the piano, and my mother used to sing out of it to my sister and I. The first novel that really affected me emotionally was Steinbeck's "Of Mice And Men." I read it when I was 13, and cried like a baby. I read Floyd Patterson's autobiography "Victory Over Myself" when I was in the 6th grade, and it sparked a lifelong interest in boxing, as well as being an absorbing and poignant account of his personal struggles while growing up. In the past ten to fifteen years, Stan Hugill's "Shanties From The Seven Seas" has been very influential. A personal account of WWII central Pacific island fighting, "With The Old Breed: At Peleliu And Okinawa" by Eugene Sledge is one of the most harrowing and deeply affecting books I've ever read. "Three lives For Mississippi" by William Bradford Huie, an account of Goodman/Chaney/Schwerner, is one I've read and re-read over the years. "Gandhi: His Relevance For Our Times" which I read when I was 21, started me on my interest in nonviolent action. My life would be less enriched if I'd never read those books.
Chanteyranger

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Gurney
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 06:37 AM

Thanks for some of those memories...

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Heinlein.
Books by Thorne Smith.
Books by Dick Francis.
Coral Island, by R.M.Ballantyne.
The Colditz Story.
Most books by Neville Shute.

I'd rather not have been reminded about..

On the Beach, by Neville Shute.
Black Sunday, by Colin??? (Who wrote the Roger Brooke series)

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Beccy
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 08:21 AM

Oooooh... I forgot:

The Art of War by Sun Tzu (it's great for strategic thought)
and
The Martial Artist's Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi (trans. by Steve Kaufman, Hanshi 10th Dan)

Beccy

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Peter T.
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 09:47 AM

With the Old Breed is a great book. There are all sorts of good books about the Pacific War, not nearly so many about the European War. Hard to know why. The Thin Red Line is the best of all of them, I think. The description of being in combat is so bleak and terrifying and true. I have not seen the movie, but the book is as good as any movie could be.
A really great book that had a strong influence on me was Barbara Tuchman's Stillwell and the American Experience in China. I knew absolutely nothing about the whole era, and nothing about Stillwell, and had little interest in the machinations of Chiang Kai-Shek when I picked the book up. I read it spellbound for about two days, couldn't put it down -- the way the blurbs say. I have read it two or three times since. Still my model for how to write history.

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Amos
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 11:41 AM

All Quiet on the Western Front had a strong influence on me, I suppose...I never went to war after reading it!

A

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Gareth
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 01:08 PM

The Roger Brooke series was originally authored by Denis Wheately (SP?) His Majesty KG3's super agent against the perfidious French.

And don't forget the cause of the Nuclear Holecaust in Shutes "On the Beach", a nuclear attack by "terrrorists" on Israel.

Hmmm ! Taking into account Shutes "Beyond the Black Stump", "In the Wet", and " No Highway" - which last mentioned book examined the problems of Metal Fatigue before the demise of the original De Havilland Comet , and before yer Californians get too cocky, the original Boeing 707 ( fatigue in the Landing gear struts )

Gareth

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 01:34 PM

Nevil Shute's In the Wet has what I think is a great idea for voting in a democracy -- the idea of the earned or merited vote, so that people who have contributed more to society get a greater voice in how it is run. Every time I suggest this idea I get shot down, but I always thought it had merit.

A book I read to my children: Am I a Bunny? by Ida Delage. It's been out of print for years now, so I got one from the library and photocopied it for my grandchildren. A well-written and illustrated book about identity, and because it's so funny, the moral lesson is not obvious. If anyone ever sees one for sale, please post, and I'll pay a fortune for it!

Incidentally, if anyone is looking for a book that is hard to find, the following website is invaluable:

Advanced Book Exchange

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Micca
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 03:53 PM

Powells in Seattle list a book by the same author called "what does a witch need?" pdc but not the one you want unfortunately, sorry

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: LadyJean
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 05:13 PM

I find myself obliged to explain that "Is Sex Necessary?" By James Thurber and E.B. White is NOT a serious work! Do not give it to your child to explain the facts of life. Do get the book and read about the young woman who believed she would have a two year old son named Ronald when her husband brought two bluebirds into a room full of flowers. I also reccomend the part about the dogs and the pigs in clover puzzle. My mother's first gift to my father was a pigs in clover puzzle.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Deckman
Date: 04 Jul 03 - 06:24 PM

Rapaire ... I recently learned that the "Rosicrucian" philosophy, or perhaps it's a religion, I don't know which, was taken largely from the Kalavala. I haven't researched this, but I intend to soon. I'm curious as to the spin! And Yes, Longfellow used the rythmn and the cadence of the poetry from the Kalavala for his piece "Hiawatha."   CHEERS, Bob

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: GUEST,van lingle
Date: 05 Jul 03 - 09:43 AM

Two books that I read when I was about 10 or 12 hang with me. "Too Late the Phalarope" by Alan Paton and "The Holocaust Kingdom" whose author I forget. The former was a novel set in Apartheid South Africa and the latter was true story about one family's journeys through the death camps. Both of these books helped me develop a humanitarian world view. Another book which seems a little hokie to me now was "Last of the Mohicans" but I used to read it over and over and imagine my self padding through the pristine forests of upstate New York with Hawkeye and Uncas. It really gave me a passion for the outdoors. vl

Great thread, can't wait to read it all.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Hollowfox
Date: 05 Jul 03 - 01:55 PM

The first book that came to mind for me was The Blue Cat of Castle Town by Catherine Cate Coblentz (1949). Its a parable, really, as the town, all the characters, and all the things mentioned in the story are real. I was lucky enough to find it as a kid while I read everything on cats that the library could provide. I sent a copy to Katlaughing when I was her Secret Santa. Being both a children's book and a parable, trying to describe the plot makes the book sound more maudlin than it really is, but here goes. In Vermont in the 1830's, a blue kitten (think slate gray fur) must find a home, but it must be a place where he can teach someone the song of the Creator of All Things. He meets a pewterer, a weaver, a businessman, and in the course of things loses the song himself. A builder and joiner (architect) unknowingly teaches the song back to him, and the now grown cat teaches it to a woman, nobody special, who creates a beautiful carpet (which, by the way is in the collection at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art). This is more description than I wanted to write; suffice to say that the story transcends the people's jobs, what they made, or the species of the main character. I think maybe I'll re-read it tonight.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Peter T.
Date: 05 Jul 03 - 03:11 PM

Got The Reverence For Wood out of the library -- a real struggle, no copies anywhere, misfiled copy in the other library -- look forward to reading it from the Mudcat Recommended Great Reading List....yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Deckman
Date: 05 Jul 03 - 03:53 PM

Peter t ... this is a trilogy! look for the others! Bob

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Ely
Date: 06 Jul 03 - 11:19 AM

I loved _Grapes of Wrath_ (we read it in 11th grade English as a comparison to _The Fountainhead_, which I despised). But Steinbeck has always moved at a good pace for me.

When I was a kid, I liked _Squanto_, _The Mixed-Up Files of ??_ (where the kids run away to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art), and _Captain Kidd's Cat_.

Other favorites are _In Cold Blood_ and _the Mayor of Casterbridge_. I know Thomas Hardy can be tedious, but I like _Mayor_ much better than Tess or Jude.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: jacqui c
Date: 06 Jul 03 - 04:38 PM

I've just remembered an author who influenced me - to look at the way that writers represent people. I had to read Hemingway for my A level course and can't think of any author who has made me feel so strongly that I never wanted to read any other of his books again. The course book was the one about WW1 - I hated it so much that I can't even remember the title - and for comparison I read 'For Whom The Bell Tolls', which I got half-way through and threw it across the room. To this day I still haven't quite worked out exactly why that man caused such a reaction. I think it might be a female thing!

Amos - thanks for that comment - I have a friend who seems to think that Hawking is required reading for any intelligent person. I think he's wrong

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 06 Jul 03 - 07:47 PM

I'm with you, Peter T, re "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and with Spaw and others re "To Kill a Mockingbird" (but it could hardly be simpler to describe, Spaw!). I got another wonderful peek at small-town America from "Lolita." Two other stateside books that come immediately to mind are "Zen" and "Grapes of Wrath."

But above all these for me are Tawney's "Religion and the Rise of Capitalism" from which I realised that if the deceit that is religion had not existed, capitalism would have had to invent it; and "Small is Beautiful" by E F Schumacher - the first economist to appreciate that the earth's finite resources, including its atmosphere, should be treated as fixed assets rather than disposable income.

Among more recent stuff: "Stalingrad" by Anthony Beevor about what was overwhelmingly the most significant front in WW2, and the staggering cruelties and privations endured on both sides. (By all accounts, his "Berlin: the Downfall" is an equal achievement.)

Lastly, surely the most ambitious novel in history, a colossal tour de force, a rivetingly detailed portrait of a great city, drawn entirely from 20-year-old memories, the city being Dublin, the book being Ulysses.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: alanabit
Date: 07 Jul 03 - 08:10 AM

Ah - van Lingle! You have reminded me of one of the most important books I have ever read, which was, "Cry The Beloved Country" by Alan Paton. The book was probably the first to really make me care about apartheid, rather than simply believe it was just wrong. The film is a masterpeice, with a (young) Sidney Poittier giving a towering performance as an old man. It's sentimental, but I don't mind that. There is a sort of sentimentality which does not insult my intelligence.
I also think Hermann Hesse's "Siddhartta" is a very important book. It is free of the pomposity of "Steppenwolf" and presents the ideas in beautiful, clear prose. I had better try to read it in German one day.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Sam L
Date: 07 Jul 03 - 10:19 AM

Ely, that's From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

I had the same Hemingway reaction to the same book, Jacqui c, unless he wrote more than one of them, but The Killers later struck me as a good short-story.

Ladyjean I'm glad you explained that Is Sex Necesary was humor, before I got in any more trouble. Thurber is under-rated.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: GUEST,PDC
Date: 07 Jul 03 - 10:48 AM

On this forum, this suggestion might be overwhelmed by responses, but I wonder if anyone else has been influenced hugely by specific music, as I was when I was a child. Don't want to start unless someone is interested in this topic.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Peter T.
Date: 07 Jul 03 - 12:41 PM

PDC there is another thread with that title -- try a search!
Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises was very influential for me, as was most of A Farewell to Arms -- he got mannered later, but those still seem to me to stand up. yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Renegade
Date: 07 Jul 03 - 01:55 PM

No one's mentioned "Catcher in the Rye"? I am a little surprised; maybe it's too obvious. But let's see, I read it in 1966, age of 13, and finally shook Holden's voice in my head (a running commentary) about 4 years ago. I still call a few obnoxious people "a goddam prince" every now and then. Just to keep my hand in, you know.

I read mostly American History. I would strongly recommend Bernard De Voto's trilogy on the West: Across the Wide Missouri, Year of Decision, and Course of Empire. De Voto's a novelist writing history; brings the best of both diciplines. He also wrote a very influential book on M. Twain,(circa 1932) and was the curator or editor (can't remember the title) of Twain's papers for quite a few years.

In fiction, I read Southern lit exclusively. All the short story writers, especially O'Conner and Welty. Love Faulkner's short stories, can't hang in there with the novels. My all-time favorite is Walker Percy. Those new to him should try his first, The Moviegoer. To me, Binx Bolling, the moviegoer, is Holden at 30.

Thanks for a great thread. I'm going through my home library tonight, see what I've forgotten.

Bill

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Cluin
Date: 07 Jul 03 - 05:52 PM

jacqui c, For Whom the Bell Tolls is a dreary slog and the male-female dialogue gets downright irritating. I'm a Hemingway fan and I don't like that book. Still can't get through it. Definitely not Ernie's best. I prefer his short stories, especially the Nick Adams ones. Also, Islands in the Stream, To Have and Have Not (don't make the mistake of thinking you know the story if you've seen the movie; about all they have in common is the name and a bit of smuggling action), The Old Man & The Sea, etc. I don't like his war books as much.

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Amergin
Date: 07 Jul 03 - 08:30 PM

I read for whom the bell tolls...and i liked it....til i reaad the end...and it pissed me off...

when the wind blows by raymond briggs is a very chilling dark comedy looking at an elderly couple struggling in the days after a nuclear attack...

Subject: RE: Books That Most Influenced You
From: Peter T.
Date: 08 Jul 03 - 09:56 AM

Catcher in the Rye! Beyond influential: like an intravenous to the mind....yours, Peter T.