A Writer’s Life: Books That Made a Lasting Impression on Me (Part 1)
(As a Reader, as a Writer, or both)
I read. A lot.
I can’t remember the last time I went to bed and did not read at least a couple chapters of a book. At any given time, I have at least ten books downloaded on my Kindle, ready to go. I’m a re-reader, if a series strikes me particularly hard. I am a DNF-er if a book gives me the willies either in it’s content or it’s lack of editing or it’s obviously poor writing skills.
I can’t help it. I love books.
As I’ve said before, I’ve been writing since my teens in one form or another. I’ve been reading for a bit longer.
There are books I have come across in those years that have made a lasting impression on me in one way or another.
Maybe I fell in love with the characters. Maybe the writing style intrigued me. Maybe it forced me to change an opinion I had long held. Perhaps it was engaging and fun. Maybe it brought back a long-forgotten story I had in my head.
Regardless of the why, I sat down and made a list of the books and/or series that really stand out in my adult reading life. Because the list got a little longer than I had anticipated, I’ll just do the first five here that came to mind, and the rest in a second post.
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
Book 2 of the Practical Magic Series
Long before I knew there was a book, I fell in love with the Practical Magic movie. Once I found the book, all bets were off. The series is now 3 books, with a fourth coming soon.
Ms. Hoffman makes the characters so engaging and so much fun, that I sped through the first book, then raced on to this one and the one that came after (Magic Lessons). The series now has history. We find out so much more about the aunts, and their parents, and their reason for living in the town they are in.
I could probably gush about this series for pages, but I won’t. Suffice it to say, the series has taught me that backstory is crucially important in getting and keeping readers engaged. She also taught me that literary fiction can be fantastical, and that magic is everywhere.
Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Avalon Series
This is a no-brainer. Before Mists of Avalon, I had read a great deal of Arthurian Legend, but this book, and the series that followed it (and was continued by Diane L. Paxton after Ms. Bradley’s death), is what solidified my love for all things Arthurian. So much of the Legend paints Morgan/Morganna/Morrigan in such a negative light, but this book gave me a new perspective of who Arthur’s sister might have been. It has been called the Feminist Arthurian Legend, and I suppose if you want to look at it from that angle, it well could be.
But for me, it simply remains my favorite book of the genre. Nothing I have read since has come close, and I blame my adulthood obsession with the legend on it.
As a side note, I know there is great controversy about Ms. Bradley and things she may or may not have done during her lifetime. As she is deceased, and cannot answer any allegations made after her death, I have chosen to cover my eyes and ears, so to speak, and not let it affect my love for her writing.
The Raven Boys
Book 1 of the Raven Cycle
By Maggie Stiefvater
I do not read a lot of YA (Young Adult). I read some. This book was recommended on several sites and blogs, and I bought it. It sat on my Kindle for probably six months as I tore through other series. And then I started it.
The concept of this book is Unique with a capital U. Most of the characters are deep, their relationships with each other twisted and tangled and full of angst and heartbreak and family and love. The magic system is so very different from the books I normally read. All of that added up to me binge-reading the four books in this series as well as the epilogue novella, and I giddily pre-ordered the first book in the second series that follows one of the characters from this series.
This series showed me that not all YA is created equal. And that having young characters in a book does not mean you cannot touch on edgy subjects. And that I can no longer judge a book on it’s Amazon category.
And neither should you.
Hounded
The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1
by Kevin Hearne
In my search for Urban Fantasy series, this one came up quite often. It seems that people either love or hate this series and Mr. Hearne’s writing style.
I fall deeply in the “serious like” camp.
Urban Fantasy, with mythology, witchcraft, druidic magic and an Irish Wolfhound that talks? Sign me up.
I read this series straight through, including the novellas and short stories. And while I will agree with some reviews of this series that say by the end, it seemed as if the author no longer wanted to be writing in the series, I still enjoyed it as a whole.
Magic is not only all around, it hides in plain sight.
What I learned from this series is that an author is not forced to stay in one camp for an entire series. If you want to add some witchcraft or wizards into your vampire story, go for it. If you want a talking dog, but you also want Thor and some Russian demon hunters, and you can find a way to make them all work together, you totally can! I learned artistic freedom from this series. And you can too!
The Paper Magician
The Paper Magician Series, Book 1
by Charlie N. Holmberg
This is the first book I picked up by Ms. Holmberg. It was not the last.
Historical Fantasy, set in what appears to be Victorian times perhaps, about a very unique magic system (the other books in the series are about glass, plastic and magicians who can use all!) using ordinary objects to do extraordinary things. There is a romantic element to these books, but by no means does that rule the plot in my opinion. Ms. Holmberg’s writing is engaging and fun, and her take on magic - and what it can and cannot do - is quirky and new. I got swept up in the stories and read them quickly.
This series made a lasting impression on me because it forced me to look at magic differently than I had been - as most fantasy series do - and changed the way I think about ordinary objects in life.
Look for Part 2, coming soon!
Note: I did not include any Amazon links for these titles, but they are all available there, as well as many other places.
