Inspiration in Reading

It occurred to me after posting my last entry that I never really discussed what inspired me at the high school/university age as Cathy Olliffe did in her post about Canadian writer Hugh Garner. I commented to her later in the day that I hadn't read 'The Yellow Sweater', his collection of short stories first published in 1952.

I don't recall us ever covering much in the way of Canadian authors back in school. I'm not sure why there was so little of it in the curriculum. Perhaps my memories of 30 years ago (class of '80) is a bit hazy.

The only works that were really memorable to me back in school were "The Good Earth," by Pearl Buck and "The Martian Chronicles," by Bradbury. I did a lot of reading on my own and really enjoyed Farley Mowat's "A Whale For the Killing." If you are going to read a Canadian author, you have to delve into Mordecai Richler. I thought his novel "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" was amazing.

As with every horror fan, King's "The Stand" and "Christine" made a big impression on me.

The classics? "The Razor's Edge," by Somerset Maugham really impressed me. I really identified with the protagonist, Larry Darrell. I also was impressed with adventure stories such as "The Scarlett Pimpernel," by Baroness Orczy and "Kim," by Rudyard Kipling. Thank goodness for books to make the introverted teen's life bearable.

But enough about me...which books made an impression on you in your youth? Be it 15 or 45 years ago.

We will be visiting my parents over the weekend for both Easter and to celebrate their anniversary (their 48th was yesterday). Most of you probably know that I'm 47. And a half. I heard that their wedding was quite quite a lovely affair once the shotgun was set aside...

I'd like to wish all of you and your families a great Easter. Have a nice turkey or ham or whatever you over indulge in during the holidays. Don't eat too much chocolate either. I'll close with a photo of myself in what will have to pass as an Easter bonnet. Since I am off work tomorrow I'll transfer some holiday photos from the house computer to my work computer for posting on the blog and on Facebook. Heck, maybe I'll even write!

Alan Harps On, Ad nauseam...

Yes, I did have to check on the spelling of Ad nauseam prior to writing this (Spelling Bee champ I am not). I am going on about the use of horror or any other genre of writing, in whatever medium, to get teens interested in reading (again, linking to Aaron Polson's blog: it did get a lot of response from his readers).

When I think back long ago, prior to the grey hair, I can remember a number of books that really made an impact on me. There's no way that I can list them all but here is a sampling:

• The Four Feathers (A.E.W. Mason)
• The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway)
• The Scarlett Pimpernel (Baroness Orczy)
• Kim (Rudyard Kipling)
• The Razor's Edge (Sommerset Maugham)
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne)
• The Stand (Stephen King)

As you'll notice (aside from the King, probably his best) there is a common theme of adventure stories set mostly in foreign places. I'm not sure if this applies to teen boys (are girls interested in this sort of stuff as well?) but I think that if you capture their imagination at an early age, the love of reading will stay with them for the rest of their lives. That being said, I now have to put this to practice to get my 13 year old son to read a book without the use of a bribe or death threat.