I've never read it but I want to now. You express yourself so eloquently and it just sounds so appealing :3
"Which books had a profound effect on you?" - I know this answer is trite but every book I've ever read. Every one, even if I hated it, have had an affect on me some way or another. Each has taught me a little about something even if it's only a little about myself.
Interestingly enough, um, for me it would be both The Fountainhead and it's sequel in ideas (but not characters) Atlas Shrugged. My husband gets very uncomfortable when I tell people that these two books changed my life and that I love them. Just to warn you, this is a very politically incorrect idea right now. I don't care. I love them
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Just to warn you, this is a very politically incorrect idea right now.lol, oh yes. I totally get that. To be entirely honest I don't stand behind Rand's 'objectiveness' philosophy fully, because the idea has its flaws, as you've pointed out. By I do like (more like LOVE) the concept of the nonconformist. Of not following the crowd mentality. Of doing what you feel passionate about and doing it well. I took Philosophy as a pre-rec in college, and I remember Socrates' definition of justice to this day... "if each person does one thing for which he is naturally suited" (Plato's Republic, book 2) and that is kind of what I took from "The Fountainhead" and by extension Howard Roark and also, from a different series, Jim Kirk
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You should read Atlas Shrugged! Omg, I love that book! Except that the character I most identify with (because he tries, but he's NOT perfect) does not end well. Oh, and the character that has my first name is HORRID, so that's kinda sad. But otherwise! Oh, I love the book. And if you think Howard's courtroom speech is great, wait till you read Johns (it's um, like, 50 pages). I actually used bits of both of them when I did a readers theatre piece on Ayn Rand in college. They teacher was frustrated with me always brining in kids lit. I think she was wrong and that kids/ya lit is awesome and worthy of doing (heck, I did AA Milne, how can anyone not understand the brilliance of him, and I was really good, too, oh well), but then it gave me that chance to do Ayn Rand, and that was a blast. (I can still do the first part of the courtroom speech from memory. Love it
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I think it's wonderful that your husband wrote and drew something that had a profound effect on you. Based on your descriptions, and also nix_this's enthusiasm when she found out who your husband is, I'm thinking I need to read some of his stuff. :-)
I would have paid good money to see you do readers theater of Ayn Rand! I bet it was awesome! Especially since you used that courtroom speech, probably my favorite courtroom scene of all time.
I've taken "Atlas Shrugged" off the shelf and placed it next to the bed. I'm going to do it! :-)
I think this is a fabulous post. I wish I had a similar story about books (I should, with how much I read), but mine is about music. Do you want to hear it anyway?
I was doing a project in eighth grade. We had to choose a career and write a report on it, including an interview of someone in that profession. Well, I was shy back then, so I decided to write about being an instrumental music teacher because I loved my teacher and would feel comfortable interviewing him. By the time I was done with the project, I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life. I admired him immensely. It was really upsetting two years later when a spoiled brat accused him of inappropriate conduct and he resigned.
I think it's awesome that you had an instructor who inspired you. A good teacher is worth their weight in gold. It's a shame that he was forced out of it *sigh*.
I'm sure he'd be so proud if he saw you now *hugs*.
I come from a family of bibliophiles (every time we've moved, we always grumble about how many boxes of books we have to pack, but when it comes to trying to get rid of them...) so I've read a lot from an early age. When thinking about books that have had a significant impact on me, though, three come to mind: Timothy Zahn's Star Wars series (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command) Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I could write pages about why these books are special to me (and I've gone through multiple copies of some of them), but the short answer is that they served as gateways to the three genres of fiction that I love the most: sci-fi, fantasy and mystery. When I moved into my first post-college apartment in Boston a month ago, I made sure all of them came up with me, and I have no doubt that I will have copies of them in every place I live from here on.
You know, I remember reading the Timothy Zahn series, too. I was in high school when they came out. I borrowed the first two from the county library and when the third one came out I didn't have the patience to wait my turn (there was a waiting list) so I went and bought it in hardback (and indulgence at the time as my parents refused to let me work while I was in high school claiming that school was my job, the only money I had was money from babysitting).
Great series. Mara Jade, right? I liked her. :-)
Actually you and I have a really lot in common. I adore science fiction and fantasy as well, and the Lord of the Rings books are among my very favorites. Also, when I was younger I too went through a mystery phase. It started with Nancy Drew when I was about eleven, then grew to Agatha Christie then evolved to Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle (all of which are authors, like you, that I love to this day).
I never read Agatha Christie or Nancy Drew (I jumped straight to Arthur Conan Doyle), but more recently I've enjoyed Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series-- it's a good mix of mystery and fantasy, and something I wholeheartedly recommend.
I don't have one particular book that's had a startling impact on me, like daphnie_1 I've been affected by a great many of the books in my life. Instead, I would say one person had a significant influence on my love of books, and that's my mother.
As you know, I've got mild dyslexia, and everyone in my immediate family is certain I inherited that from my mother. As you might guess, reading didn't come particularly easy to her, and most of her teachers were disparaging rather than encouraging with her problems. Dyslexia and the like weren't exactly widely acknowledged/diagnosed/dealt with back in the 50s/60s compared with the last decade or two. So she avoided reading except when she had to and considered it a tedious chore, until she was in high school around 15 years old or so. She finally had an English teacher that cared about her students loving to read and took the time to help my mother find things to read that would make the effort more than worth it. From that point on there was no looking back as she fell in love with the
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This comment really, really touched my heart, especially since I'm a mom, myself. I think it's fabulous that your mother was such an amazing role model. Showing the joys reading through example, as your mother did, I believe is probably one greatest gifts a parent can give. You are a strong, intelligent and admirable lady... I can easily see where some of that came from. :-)
*hugs*
Dr. Seuss is wonderful, isn't he? My daughter loves him, too. Right now her favorite is "Horton Hatches the Egg."
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant, an elephant's faithful one hundred percent."
Aww, hon, that's some very kind praise, I thank you on behalf of both myself and my mum.
My sister and I were very enamoured of both Seuss and Berenstain as little kids, pretty much everything we got from the Seuss Bright and Early subscription tickled us pink. We could "read" (ie recited, lol) Bears in the Night by the time I was 4, and Fox in Socks was of course classic. When we got older and needed the book shelf space for the novels and things we'd moved onto, all of those books were carefully boxed up so that some day they'll be able to be passed on to our own children. :)
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"Which books had a profound effect on you?" - I know this answer is trite but every book I've ever read. Every one, even if I hated it, have had an affect on me some way or another. Each has taught me a little about something even if it's only a little about myself.
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You make a good point. I think you're right. Everything we read has a lasting impact, no matter how small or wide.
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I would have paid good money to see you do readers theater of Ayn Rand! I bet it was awesome! Especially since you used that courtroom speech, probably my favorite courtroom scene of all time.
I've taken "Atlas Shrugged" off the shelf and placed it next to the bed. I'm going to do it! :-)
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I'm sure he'd be so proud if he saw you now *hugs*.
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Awesome! Me as well. Bookworms unite! :-)
You know, I remember reading the Timothy Zahn series, too. I was in high school when they came out. I borrowed the first two from the county library and when the third one came out I didn't have the patience to wait my turn (there was a waiting list) so I went and bought it in hardback (and indulgence at the time as my parents refused to let me work while I was in high school claiming that school was my job, the only money I had was money from babysitting).
Great series. Mara Jade, right? I liked her. :-)
Actually you and I have a really lot in common. I adore science fiction and fantasy as well, and the Lord of the Rings books are among my very favorites. Also, when I was younger I too went through a mystery phase. It started with Nancy Drew when I was about eleven, then grew to Agatha Christie then evolved to Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle (all of which are authors, like you, that I love to this day).
You have excellent taste! :-)
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Yes, Mara Jade was introduced in the series, too.
I never read Agatha Christie or Nancy Drew (I jumped straight to Arthur Conan Doyle), but more recently I've enjoyed Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series-- it's a good mix of mystery and fantasy, and something I wholeheartedly recommend.
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As you know, I've got mild dyslexia, and everyone in my immediate family is certain I inherited that from my mother. As you might guess, reading didn't come particularly easy to her, and most of her teachers were disparaging rather than encouraging with her problems. Dyslexia and the like weren't exactly widely acknowledged/diagnosed/dealt with back in the 50s/60s compared with the last decade or two. So she avoided reading except when she had to and considered it a tedious chore, until she was in high school around 15 years old or so. She finally had an English teacher that cared about her students loving to read and took the time to help my mother find things to read that would make the effort more than worth it. From that point on there was no looking back as she fell in love with the ( ... )
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*hugs*
Dr. Seuss is wonderful, isn't he? My daughter loves him, too. Right now her favorite is "Horton Hatches the Egg."
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant, an elephant's faithful one hundred percent."
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My sister and I were very enamoured of both Seuss and Berenstain as little kids, pretty much everything we got from the Seuss Bright and Early subscription tickled us pink. We could "read" (ie recited, lol) Bears in the Night by the time I was 4, and Fox in Socks was of course classic. When we got older and needed the book shelf space for the novels and things we'd moved onto, all of those books were carefully boxed up so that some day they'll be able to be passed on to our own children. :)
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