The 10 Books that have had an impacton on me

Following a Facebook Meme, I though I’d have a go at writing out which books had the biggest impact. So, for no particular reason, here they are:

1. Dragons of the Autumn Twilight, Margaret Wise and Tracy Hickman : It is very difficult to describe the impact this has, but it is the first book that changed my life. I had always been into Dragons, and high-fantasy, but I don’t remember reading anything that got me as hooked as this one did. It came free with the game based on it (something I still think we should do more of). It was designed to be read while the loading screens happened (on a ZX Spectrum, this could take several minuits). I remember that I actually got so absorbed in the book that I don’t think I played the game for more than few minuits. I then went on to read as much of the series as I could get my hands on. I remember a birthday where all I got was books from this series (The Time/War/Test of the Twins, 1 and 2 Chronicles, etc). It was epic. It was reading a book from this series that got me my first friend in Secondary School, as he was reading a collection of The Time/War/Test.

2. Invasion of the Cybermen, by Terrance Dicks : This was the first Dr. Who book that I ever read, and, if I’m honest, the first introduction to Dr. Who that I’d had. I was quite young, I’m not sure how young, but we were at the funeral for my Great Uncle Bev, and there was very little for us to do. I don’t think we were able to go to the Crem/Funeral, so I was sat at my Aunt’s place. My “Cousin” Mark gave me this book to read, and, honstly, I remember nothing but the saddness and melancholy of the day, and this book. I still have it, in my collection, which has now grown quite considerably. I’m still a fan of the Terrance Dicks books, but it’s interesting to see little bits that are taken from similar children stories, like questions to the reader “What is this? The pod is opening!” (From the Pod of Doom). I have become, since, a bit of a Dr. Who Fan.

3. Dragonsong, by Anne McAffery : I have struggled through a lot of her books, but it was this one that made reading the series very difficult. The problem was that the way she describes the hatching litterally tore at my heartstrings so much that I wanted a Dragon. I Wanted a Dragon so bad that it hurt. I’ve never felt such longing. As such, while I’ve mangaed to (since then) read a lot of the books, I can only read them piecemeal. Despite what a lot of people say, I quite liked the suddenly sci-fi nature of AVIS.

4. The Shining – Stephen King : There are many books that leave a lasting impression, but there are very few that can actually scare me to the point that I gain a new fear. The Shining is one such book. The pace of the writing, and the way that the story uses all of the good horror tricks, like making you want to yell at the book (which I did!) “Don’t open the door!”, but know in your heart of hearts that it was inevitable, and above all, necessary (unlike the people who are curious, or wanting to know what the noise was, or just because). I won’t say what part of the book scared me, because it’s the kind of thing the people I have on here will use against me, but it really freaks me out. Let me just say that What Lies Beneath is a much scarier film for me.

5. The Soucerer – Terry Pratchet : I’d never heard of Terry Pratchet before I read this book. I picked this book up, oddly, in Chester on, I think, a St. John’s Cadet Camp. It shows how good it was because I actually chose reading it over getting to know a girl that my memory tells me I may have had a chance with. The impact of this book was that it introduced me to an intelligent style of writing. The implication of the book was that you didn’t need to be stupid, or silly, to enjoy fantasy. You had to be smart to get a lot of the jokes. It was nice to know that I didn’t need to give up my desire for learning to enjoy reading fantasy.

6. The Bible – Good News Translation : This one should come as no real surprise. When I was 12, I decided to be confirmed, and it was about here that I saw the hypocrysy in the Churches denominations (something that is now, thankfully, going away in the UK). I was a member of a Pentacostal Sunday School (for not reall reason other than they had a minibus, I seem to recall, and my friends when there). It was coming up time to be “Baptised”, well, I’d already been baptised as an Anglican, so it seemed a little odd to be baptised again, this led me to being confirmed, and finding myself unwelcome at the old Sunday School (or should I say, outright told I couldn’t come back). For my Confirmation, I was given a Good News Bible, which is quite easy to read. It is, however, AWEFUL for theology. I wish someone had told me that when I was 12. I’ve struggled with that translation over the years. Thrown it at walls, stomped on it, used it as a door-stop, and generally mis-treated it. I have also, however, read it sparodically. It was from this translation that a lot of my questions and problesm with Christianity came, and it was from this translation that I debated and argued. Were it not for this translation, it is unlikely that I took the journey that I took, had the conersations that I’ve had, or indeed, ended up where I am. I would still not give this translation to anyone else, nor recommend it without someone willing to put the legwork in. Still, it changed my life.

7. The Forrest Of Doom – Ian Livingstone : This was the book that started me off into the realm of roleplaying. At the time, I had no friends, and therefore, no-one to roleplay with, but it was this that showed me the possibilities. It wasn’t long before I got my hands on Fighting Fantasy, and the rest is history. I should also mention here The House of Hell by Steve Jackson, as this is another ne I’ve never completed, and played for hours. Later I would gain a few friends, and during lunch-hours at school, we used to roleplay in the Library. It was my first introduction to GM’ing, and I’ve been loving it ever since.I should also include, here, StarWars – The Roelplay Game, By West End Games. This was the first “adult” roleplay game I’ve ever got my hands on, and really, the first game I ever played it. As such it has a special place in my heart.

8. Tom Brown’s Schooldays by Thomas Hughes : It is interesting that what I remember form this book has very little to do with what most people remmeber about it. It was a rather idilasied rememberence of life in a public schol, but Tom’s enemy was a bully called Flashman. It was the first book that I’d read that actually showed that I was not alone, that being bullied was something that was happening elsewhere. I don’t remmeber at the time having an appreciation for the fact that this book was, by that time, over 100 years old, but it gave me a form of comfort. Tom doesn’t really beat the bully, but rather their animosity fades as they grow, which gave some hope to the young bullied kid.

9. The Merchant of Venice – William Shakespere : Okay, so it’s not really a book, but it was a play what I read. Like with Tom Brown’s Schooldays, I took from this the plight of Shylock. A man who I could actually empathise with. Perhaps a little mean and miserly, he was at least well-meaning. It was the rest of the world that refused to accept him for who he was, or even appreciate that his plight was just as important as theirs. The situation he gets himself into, while a little of his own making, is not helped by the fact that he is cast as villain simply for his race. From the perspective of a kid being constantly bullied for no other reason than I had red hair, this again, showed me in a powerful way that the world was not a place that was fair. Shylocks cry “Hath not a jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, Hath not a Jew organs, affections, passions, fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseased, healed by the same meanswarmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?If you posion us, shall we not die? And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest we shall resemble you in that.” was something that stayed with me, and I have to confess, informed my way of thinking for a long time. Still does.

10. Natural Causes by James Oswald : It’s not very often that I get me a fan-boy streak for a particular genre. In fact, not since Dragons of the Autumn Twilight have I consumed a book as quick as I have this, and then eagerly awaited the second one. More than that, I’ve met the author, a very humble man, looking for all the world like a writer. I even have a signed copy of his fantasy series. This book, however, was available for free on Amazon, and with my new Kindle I got into a habbit of downloading the free books, just for something to read. This was a gem. It’s a murder-mystery, with something a little bit differetn. This book showed that there is a place for modern technology in book readership, and it opened the door to a genre I didn’t even know I liked.