Who Turned You On To Your First Novels?
For this post of my first reading influences, I going to omit the obvious but all-important role of my parents. So, who else is left? Well, my grandfather was a big reader of the classic pulps like Mr. Spillane's Mike Hammer, so he's mine.
The teachers had some pull. I recall the Scholastic Books biographies of historical figures that I read in the 4th grade. I'm not sure how I had the time to read them in class, but I did. The public library comes to mind. I checked out Zane Grey and Hardy Boys by the bushel. The Batman and Green Hornet comic books had an early appeal for me.
Remember the Walt Disney Children's vinyl LPs like of Swiss Family Robinson, Robin Hood, and Treasure Island? I played the grooves out of those albums. It wasn't reading per se, but it was vivid storytelling just the same. I wish I was a kid again to give them a listen with the same rapt attention that I had back then.
Happy reading to you and yours!
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Definitely recommend you take a fictional journey to Lake Charles."
Elizabeth A. White's Musings of an All Purpose Monkey
The teachers had some pull. I recall the Scholastic Books biographies of historical figures that I read in the 4th grade. I'm not sure how I had the time to read them in class, but I did. The public library comes to mind. I checked out Zane Grey and Hardy Boys by the bushel. The Batman and Green Hornet comic books had an early appeal for me.
Remember the Walt Disney Children's vinyl LPs like of Swiss Family Robinson, Robin Hood, and Treasure Island? I played the grooves out of those albums. It wasn't reading per se, but it was vivid storytelling just the same. I wish I was a kid again to give them a listen with the same rapt attention that I had back then.
Happy reading to you and yours!
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Definitely recommend you take a fictional journey to Lake Charles."
Elizabeth A. White's Musings of an All Purpose Monkey
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Randy wrote: "It's been a helluva ride so far."Aptly put. I don't know if I read that Zane Grey title or not. They sure were fun to read for the first time. Thanks, Randy.
Mine was a slow process, it started when my mother used to read "Penrod" books to me and During the War We lived with my grandparents and my Grandfather read Pulp Westerns IE They were like the old Funny books written on Pulp paper and were just short stories. I would sometime read them. But a friend of mine really got me going in my testarone IE (Teenage Boy) years by introducing me to such racy book (During that time) as "Gods little acre" "Tobacco Road" etc....and my love of escaping into other worlds just kept going, and luckily to a higher grade of Literature.
sarg wrote: "Mine was a slow process, it started when my mother used to read "Penrod" books to me and During the War We lived with my grandparents and my Grandfather read Pulp Westerns IE They were like the old..."Erksine Caldwell's two big titles you mention I read many years ago. Funny but I've been meaning to read Tobacco Road again to see how it holds up now. Our library still has it in their fiction collection.
My dad and the local librarian in the beginning. My dad had me reading Exodus by Leon Uris at 13 and the librarian handed me Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier at 15. Then my husband, then boyfriend, introduced me to Tolkien who has remained one of my all-time favorite authors.
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Biology is probably the only effect they had on me. My Mother raised three kids alone(dear old dad was in the wind) and Grandfather had a small grocery store.
When he passed, my Grandmother gave me the only three books he possessed. UNDER THE TONTO RIM by Zane Grey, a first edition, a 1933 edition of TREASURE ISLAND, and a copy of the Bible with his name in gold leaf on the cover.
I entered the first grade not knowing how to read and won a prize at the end of the year for reading the most books in the class.
I was off and running.
The Hardy Boys and Tom Swift were early influences. I would say the first thing close to an adult novel was Heinlein's TUNNEL IN THE SKY. Still a juvenile, but it set my reading patterns for a good many years.
And then I discovered Sherlock Holmes. That got me into mystery/crime/thrillers.
These days I average just over twenty books a month, have for years.
It's been a helluva ride so far.