Tanya the husky and me.
I may still be coming off a tryptophan high after all of last week’s Thanksgiving turkey (and let’s not discuss the carbs, shall we?). The winding toward year-end combined with the holidays always get me thinking. Like many, I spent a little time this past week or so thinking about gratitude. As I near the half-century mark (truly, only 15 months away), I find myself retracing my youth and wondering how I became the person I am today. Sure, my parents, siblings, teachers and friends all had a hand in shaping my personality.
And so did books.
I was a voracious reader from early childhood. Famous in my family for being able to sit in a corner of the noisy living room while my dad watched television, Mom was on the phone planning volunteer events, my sister and her friends were laughing and talking and my brother and his friend were strumming a guitar and treating every object in the room like a set of drums. Oh yeah, add in a Siberian Husky chasing a cat through the room and you get a glimmer of the chaos that was my childhood. Pretty typical, right?
But I was oblivious to most of the chaos and even the direct conversation because I had my nose in a book. I was lost in some other world the author had created until that moment when my mom would pluck the book from my fingertips, lean in and say, “For the eighteenth time, Amy, it’s time for dinner.” She always said it with a smile.
F. Patrick McCabe as Flaky Snowman and me as Drippy Iclcle in the children's holiday classic, Put It On Ice. What, you've never heard of it?
I was a dreamy child, one who never minded playing by myself. My mind was filled with so many stories that I was never at a loss for friends or conversation. They were all there in my head. I had no idea at the time that those characters in my head would lead me to study drama and one day encourage me to write my own stories for publication.
So, I wanted to express my gratitude to authors in general for making me THINK and making me FEEL. For teaching me to EXPLORE and to EXPERIMENT. For taking me on JOURNEYS that spanned the GLOBE without leaving my chair. For helping me learn that CONFLICT does not always mean DEFEAT and that VICTORY can come in many GUISES. For showing me that people, like characters, often come in layers that combine GOOD and BAD, RIGHT and WRONG. And for sharing the JOY of the WRITTEN WORD.
Me with Tonga the Serval. Yep, that's who I've become.
In particular, I give thanks to these authors:
- E.B. White (Charlotte’s Web)
- Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie series)
- Walter Farley (The Black Stallion series)
- William Shakespeare (English Renaissance Drama)
- Georgette Heyer (Regency romances)
- Elswyth Thane (The Williamsburg novels)
- Dick Francis (British mysteries featuring horse racing)
- Kathleen Woodiwiss (steamy historical romances)
- Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts)
- Tom Clancy (The Hunt for Red October and military adventures)
- Dorothy L. Sayers (Peter Wimsey mysteries)
- Judith McNaught (historical and contemporary romance)
- Jean M. Auel (Clan of the Cave Bear series)
Okay, I started with a list of five, but it kept growing. I could name dozens of other authors who have given me hours of enjoyment (I even enjoyed the parts where I cried), kept me up late turning pages (and lately, flipping screens) and showed me people and worlds and ideas that inspired me.
So, how about you? Are there any authors you’re grateful for? Anything you were inspired to do that you “blame” on books?
Amy, what a wonderful picture of you as Drippy Icicle! And your cat is gorgeous.
Anne Frank -Her diary had a profound effect on me. All these years later, I feel stunned by her story, and awed at her life force that was so strong, we felt it in her pages. And lastly, grief that it ended too soon.
Louisa May Alcott for Little Women. For me, it’s a perfect book. After reading it, I aspired to be like Jo when I grew up. That’s a great role model. (Though I still think she should’ve married Laurie.)
There are quite a few from your list that I’d put on mine. And many of my friends. I’m very grateful to have CPs and friends who are amazing writers.
Edie,
I should have included Louisa May Alcott. Charles Dickens, too! (Yes, I actually DID enjoy reading Great Expectations in school!). As for Tonga, he’s not mine. Servals are wild cats that are about the size of a Dalmation. But he was such a sweetie when we did a photography safari at a big cat facility.
As for Drippy Icicle, I was the villainous—and it was a hoot!
Amy, I love the pictures of you, and that little peep into your life.
I was just like you. As the oldest of five children, we lived in mayhem, and I was just able to tune it all out when my nose was in a book.
I am so grateful to so many writers. Some of them are on your list, too, but I’d add Terry Pratchett, for his playful spirit and his complex humor, Salman Rushdie for the beauty of his imagery and the depth of his characters, and . . . okay, I can see I could go on for a long time.
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LOL, Michelle–now you see my dilemma. I tried to keep the list short, but I’ve learned so much from so many authors. And as Edie pointed out, now that I *know* authors, it’s even worse. Or rather, better! I just want to name every author of every book I’ve ever read.
Amy, I loved your pictures and selection of authors. One book that really moved me is The Small Woman: The True Story of Gladys Aylward of China, later made into a movie–The Inn of the Sixth Happiness staring Ingrid Bergman. It shows us that nothing is impossible.
Sylvia, thanks for stopping by. I haven’t read the book, but I’ve seen the film. It’s beautiful and dynamic. Yes, that’s the power of story, isn’t it?
Well, once again- I feel like we are TS’s.
All those people in your head- you’ve got to write about them, don’t you?
Love the pics!
And the list! where would any of us be without books? When I was a kid, I loved the Trixie Belden books by Kathryn Kenny- Nancy Drew, too.
My Side of the Mountain- by Jean George
Piers Anthony!
London’s Call Of the Wild
And I’ll never forget reading Poe’s Murders of the Rue Morgue when I was 13. Scared the bejeezus out of me- I loved it!
Laura, my T.S. (tribe sister), how could I have left Jack London off the list?? Or Rudyard Kipling, for that matter? Ooh and Masque of the Red Death–loved that, too. It’s fun to remember all those stories.
Hi,
Love the insight into your world Amy! The serval is beautiful and so tame looking. There are so many great authors out there and so many series I devoured growing up – like Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Trixie Beldon – yes I’m dating myself. Even after hitting teenage years I was hooked on reading and never could take enough our of the library and like you I tried many different authors. The biggest influence to my writing would be Linda Howard, Catherine Coulter and Jayne Ann Krentz. I’m so grateful that they opened up a whole new world for me.
Dale, sounds like you were reading the same books as Laura. I was reading a lot more animal protagonists, so I blipped right past Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys (although I watched both on television in the 70′s—how’s that for dating myself?). And I love your contemporary authors–what’s not to learn from talent like that?
Amy, I’d like to thank you for the support you give to all the writers you work with, in the groups you’ve established and in your loving spirit.
I too might begin with Nancy Drew (even though we both know it was more than one writer) … but my favorite mystery writers really begins with Agatha, her body of work and her two great detectives. In literature I loved 20th Cen. classics, but had a thing for Salinger and his snarky, weird perception of life in The Nine Short Stories. I also loved several of yours and read all of Dick Francis, some of them more than once. I would add Jack London, and A Wrinkle In Time. I follow a dozen series in mystery, romance and romantic suspense, and I’ll admit I also read all seven Harry Potter. These days I try to read as many of our group’s books as I can. A note to Liz: I’ve read all of those three women, and love the Sherlock/Savich series from Catherine Coulter.
As I prepare to move to a new apartment, I will be sorting my books once more. I donate to Women In Distress or Friends of the Library, although I can’t always part with some of my favs. When I do this, I start reliving those moments again and each time I put one in the “donate” pile, I get a bit emotional. I guess there is nothing left to do but get more
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Thanks for stopping in, Florence, and for sharing such an awesome list of authors. Agatha was on my list, but she got bumped by Sayers. I also loved Madeline L’Engle books (and her pseudonym Madeline Brent). And I only just read the Harry Potter series within the last year, but I enjoyed it immensely. The movies finally all make sense now!
Kudos to you on the book donations. Sharing the joy of reading is so important.
Ladies, I read all the books you mentioned and more! The Boxcar Children was the one that hooked me. I was another head on a book kid. I still must have a book in hand or beside me. I’ll even read a boring book if that’s all I can find. Actually, once I get into a book, I must finish it.
Anyone remember Exodus, Dear and Glorious Physician, The Beauty of the Purple, The Agony and the Ecstasy, John Galsworthy, Frank Yerby, Lady Chattersly’s Lover?
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Mary, so nice to see you! Yes, I forever had my head in a book as a child. And I find when I’m at my lowest, there are books I gravitate toward as if they were good friends. I’ll admit, I haven’t read the books on your list—though I’m familiar with most of their titles. There are SO MANY great books out there!
What a great post! And so true. There have been many times when I’ve read a book and wanted to be more like that characters. Whether we realize it or not, we do influence people. My favorits were Anne of Green Gables and The Chronicles of Narnia books.
Lori, I never read Anne of Green Gables or A Wrinkle in Time as a kid. Don’t ask me how I missed them, but I did. I took a graduate course in Children’s Literature (I was studying Child Drama at the time) and both these books were on the syllabus. I *loved* them! And I felt I got much more out of reading them as an adult than I might have during my childhood/adolescence. Thanks for reminding me.
As a kid, Lois Lenski was my favorite author. She drew her own pictures in her work. I’ve managed to get several of them from an auction site. There was the pink fuzzy book, Pollyanna and Toby Tyler and the Circus. I also had a marionette book that I read and read and read as a kid, maybe that’s why I like screenwriting. LOL
Today…I’ll read anything by Carla Kelly. There are so many authors, all bringing something new to discover, if only there was enough time to read all the books on my Kindle and in my office. I might not live long enough.
Pepper, I’m not familiar with Lois Lenski, but the books sound like such fun. My grandmother worked for The Cleveland Press and wrote reviews of children’s books, so there were always amazing options for me to read. A favorite was an illustrated version of The Bartered Bride (Smetana’s opera) by Lisl Weil.
Perhaps, if we’re ever confronted by Death, we should negotiate to delay following him until we’ve caught up with our TBR piles.
Nice Job, Amy !!
~Angi
(love Drippy Icicle)
Thanks, Angi! You should have seen me as Little Bo Peep… ah, the days working in children’s theater…
You look maaavalous as Drippy Icicle. I can thank Kathleen Woodiwiss for falling in love with romance novels.
Thanks, Karin! Yes, I think Kathleen Woodiwiss woke up a lot of young women in our generation! I read *everything* she wrote!
You look great Sylvia. I am thankful to the authors that inspired me in many ways as well. It is amazing how these books can contribute to our growth and development. I am grateful for the list of authors. I will make sure to read their works.
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