10 most influential books not in order
1. The Living Bible. (HA! you laugh)... My early teens found me in the bedroom reading the adventures of David and Samson straight out of the OT in language I could digest. I was amazed and my Mom was worried.
2. "Stormbringer" by Michael Moorcock. Actually this was the 5th book in a series. I was introduced to this dark fantasy series by my unknowing parents who bought the first book in the series upon the advice of a young store clerk who also liked Sword & Sorcery books. I was in my early teens, and was consumed by the plight of Elric, an albino prince who weilded a sword of chaos named Stormbringer, that would drink the souls of his enemies. Elric was pale, thin, and misunderstood as he hacked away at horrible demons. I was too. HA!
3. "Shibumi" by Michael Trevanian. I read this in the Army. It was a spy/action story that helped me cope in my own personal cloak and dagger soul. Full of asides referring to anti-heros, loners and such.
4. "Dune" by Frank Herbert. This was an exotic tale of desert winds, thirst, and young heros. I was motivated by one of the first chapters where he holds his hand into a box full of "pain" and refuses to pull it out for an old witch. A SF classic and my first introduction to the word Jihad.
5. "Salt" by Mark Kurlansky. This is the history of salt. Reveals odd gems such as the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were salt trading cities whose slaves worked the harvested sea-salt into pillars... hmmmmm....
6. "The Devil's Cup" by Stewart Lee Allen. This is the history of coffee. One of the the book's premise was to explain that in Middle Ages Europe everyone was an alcoholic, drinking upto a 12-pack of beer a day because beer was the only safe beverage. When the coffee trade began, so began the rise of the normal guy and many religious and political upheavals. Every Empire is now properly caffeinated.
7. "Starship Trooper" by Robert Heinlein. I joined the Army and went Airborne because of this classic SF book. Loaded with conservative politics and a clear devotion to duty and SF military glory. Holds between it's pages such odd political thoughts like only military service can grant citizenship. Still controversial.
8. "The Stand" by Stephen King. I read this during a long summer. This horror tale details the lives of the 0.1% of plague survivors in a modern age. I have never forgot the chapter where a young man negotiates the carnage of roadblocks and bodies inside Eisenhower Tunnel in NYC. Extremely graphic in imagery - even more so when his flashlight quits working. Don't know why this is influential. I suppose it gave me a sense of a the fragility of civilization that makes me giddy at times. (don't you know by now that I'm a geeky unibomber hermit!?!?)
9. "The 12 Caesars" by Seutonius. This guy lived in Jesus' time and wrote a scathing National Enquirer like book that is easy to read which detailed 12 of Rome's Rulers. Offers factual tidbits like the eyewitness accounts of Nero roaming his palace at night, moaning for mercy because he could not sleep. Excellent juxtaposition to the Bible.
10. "Diary of a Rape Victim" by my mother Phillis Godwin. My mother was raped on a dark road in Arkansas as a young woman during a time when this crime was never mentioned. The courtroom trial ripped the family apart. She has always ran from the horrifying experience but I've watched her face it bravely. Explains why I grew up with chairs propped against the doors when my father worked 3rd shift. We all slept in one room with a bright lamp on. Can still be found on Amazon...
2. "Stormbringer" by Michael Moorcock. Actually this was the 5th book in a series. I was introduced to this dark fantasy series by my unknowing parents who bought the first book in the series upon the advice of a young store clerk who also liked Sword & Sorcery books. I was in my early teens, and was consumed by the plight of Elric, an albino prince who weilded a sword of chaos named Stormbringer, that would drink the souls of his enemies. Elric was pale, thin, and misunderstood as he hacked away at horrible demons. I was too. HA!
3. "Shibumi" by Michael Trevanian. I read this in the Army. It was a spy/action story that helped me cope in my own personal cloak and dagger soul. Full of asides referring to anti-heros, loners and such.
4. "Dune" by Frank Herbert. This was an exotic tale of desert winds, thirst, and young heros. I was motivated by one of the first chapters where he holds his hand into a box full of "pain" and refuses to pull it out for an old witch. A SF classic and my first introduction to the word Jihad.
5. "Salt" by Mark Kurlansky. This is the history of salt. Reveals odd gems such as the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were salt trading cities whose slaves worked the harvested sea-salt into pillars... hmmmmm....
6. "The Devil's Cup" by Stewart Lee Allen. This is the history of coffee. One of the the book's premise was to explain that in Middle Ages Europe everyone was an alcoholic, drinking upto a 12-pack of beer a day because beer was the only safe beverage. When the coffee trade began, so began the rise of the normal guy and many religious and political upheavals. Every Empire is now properly caffeinated.
7. "Starship Trooper" by Robert Heinlein. I joined the Army and went Airborne because of this classic SF book. Loaded with conservative politics and a clear devotion to duty and SF military glory. Holds between it's pages such odd political thoughts like only military service can grant citizenship. Still controversial.
8. "The Stand" by Stephen King. I read this during a long summer. This horror tale details the lives of the 0.1% of plague survivors in a modern age. I have never forgot the chapter where a young man negotiates the carnage of roadblocks and bodies inside Eisenhower Tunnel in NYC. Extremely graphic in imagery - even more so when his flashlight quits working. Don't know why this is influential. I suppose it gave me a sense of a the fragility of civilization that makes me giddy at times. (don't you know by now that I'm a geeky unibomber hermit!?!?)
9. "The 12 Caesars" by Seutonius. This guy lived in Jesus' time and wrote a scathing National Enquirer like book that is easy to read which detailed 12 of Rome's Rulers. Offers factual tidbits like the eyewitness accounts of Nero roaming his palace at night, moaning for mercy because he could not sleep. Excellent juxtaposition to the Bible.
10. "Diary of a Rape Victim" by my mother Phillis Godwin. My mother was raped on a dark road in Arkansas as a young woman during a time when this crime was never mentioned. The courtroom trial ripped the family apart. She has always ran from the horrifying experience but I've watched her face it bravely. Explains why I grew up with chairs propped against the doors when my father worked 3rd shift. We all slept in one room with a bright lamp on. Can still be found on Amazon...
posted by windarkwingod | 3:50 PM
5 Comments:
Wow, it looks like I have some reading to do. I haven't read any of the books you listed at all yet. :)
"Stormbringer" and that picture reminds me of the movie "Powder"
The pale guy that was misunderstood. That was a sad movie--didn't he die by a lightning strike.
I was waiting to see The Prayer of Jabez pop up. I thought that book changed your life along with the "Left Behind" series, which you didnt mention either.
There are some on the list that I should try to read.
Just thought I'd let you all know that thanks to Dar's post, 'Salt' has managed to move from the list of books I should read someday to the CD player in the car.
I'm only as far as chapter 3 but thouroughly enjoying every minute.
on a related note, I've gaining an alarming interest in pickleing vegetables and salting meats.
Does "Salt" mention Hallstadt or Salzburg, Austria?
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