Ryoika Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 Was there a book that inspired you to develop passion in literature? For me, it all began with Lee Young Do's fantasy novel, Dragon Raja.I still thank my friend who recommended that book to me, because without reading that book, I would not have realized how fascinating literature can be, earlier. How about you? 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhead Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway and Cold Mountain by Frazier. Changed my life. 3 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchester City Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 The original Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien; published 1954. 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
insomniac writer Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackcurrant Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 (edited) "Lord of the Flies" Golding.The memory of pages upon pages... describing the origins and movement of .... a pebble! And endless pages of butterflies, of flowers, of stars and sea... I was 14. All this appeared so much gratuitous detail at the time. For some, who couldn't wait to get back to the action, it was excruciating. The joke was that Golding, like Dickens, was paid by the word. Now, back to this pebble ...Golding spends at least a couple of pages describing, in glorious detail, how this little rock had rolled this way and that under the sea over millions of years, inching underwater from one island to the next. Eeeeoooons later --and entirely by chance--, it ends up in Roger's hand. A tightly clenched hand. As a missile. He is aiming it at a group of littl'uns playing innocently in the sand... and about to throw. Somehow, despite all the other more obviously exciting aspects of the story -- the hunting, tumbling boulders, violence, bloodshed., Piggy's brains spattered all over the rocks -- the endless pages of hauntingly beautiful prose of flowers, butterflies, and sounds of the ocean impressed themselves on my mind. And dammit, I couldn't shake the image of the pebble, inching its way on the bottom of the ocean! The significance of only became clear, much, much later. Those were the limpid pools of insight and imagination, which Golding was offering us, punctuating the boys' frantic, headlong descent into a maelstrom of violence. Heavens! Edited August 29, 2014 by Blackcurrant 4 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erudite Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 Pride & Prejudice. It's all about Mr. Darcy... 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniaKharraz Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 The book thief definitely. 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simigee Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 the book thief 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicquor Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath; I can absolutely sympathise with Esther and her actions and I'm just sad I didn't come across this book earlier.Little Women was an interesting read too. I think it was one of the first books that made me realise classic literature isn't quite as boring as people make it seem (this was way back in like, year 6 or 7? I can't remember, but I didn't really try exploring literature much until later). 3 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Jeeves Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 When I was little, it was A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. There was the fact that the character shared my name, but it was also a gorgeous story full of interesting characters with great names. I actually named my fish Melchisedec, which I realized later was far too ornate of a name for a fish but what the hey. The only problem is that it seems like very few people know of the book. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicquor Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 When I was little, it was A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. There was the fact that the character shared my name, but it was also a gorgeous story full of interesting characters with great names. I actually named my fish Melchisedec, which I realized later was far too ornate of a name for a fish but what the hey. The only problem is that it seems like very few people know of the book.oh wow, I'm really glad I'm not the only person who's heard of this book! Ahahaha, I remember reading it and watching the animated series called Princess Sarah that was based off it. I remember feeling so much anger towards Miss Minchin, now that I think about. And one of those spoilt girls, Lottie, I think?Speaking of childhood favourites, I particularly liked The Secret Garden, although I don't think it made that much of an impact on me. It was a sweet book though and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsoshewrote Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 Brave New World Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 When I was little, it was A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. There was the fact that the character shared my name, but it was also a gorgeous story full of interesting characters with great names. I actually named my fish Melchisedec, which I realized later was far too ornate of a name for a fish but what the hey. The only problem is that it seems like very few people know of the book.Did you ever watch the film? I used to love it when I was little, that evil headmistress lady used to scare the hell out of me. She was so EVIL! I didn't actually know it was a book as well, to be honest.I've always loved reading... I guess the first series I got properly addicted to was probably Malory Towers by Enid Blyton when I was about 5. I used to agree to do piano practice in exchange for my mum buying me the next book. And I hated piano *so* much! So they must have been good, ahah. Then it was The Famous Five, the Redwall books, Secret Seven and so on! Redwall was probably my biggest love, but I didn't discover them til I was about 7.Thing is even before I personally could read my family would always read me children's books and poems and I used to listen to audiobooks as I went to sleep, so it's hard to really remember at what point *I* started reading them as opposed to being read to or with. Always enjoyed it - although can't always say the same for the boring books the school used to give us So I suppose I can't remember a time when I didn't have a passion for reading... although whether all reading is 'literature' I guess is a moot point! Although I like both, I'd still rather read something I get totally engaged with than something where I can appreciate the authorial skill and ideas. Most of literature, to my mind, falling into the latter category...Best 'literature' book = The Magus by John Fowles. My personal life-changing book 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricketcrazynerd Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 The Witches, by Ronald Dahl 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Jeeves Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 The Witches, by Ronald Dahl I have to admit, that one terrified me the first time I read it. I was nine and eating candy. I'm sure you can see why. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Leue Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera.The analysis of that book with my English teacher blew my mind. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricketcrazynerd Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 The Witches, by Ronald Dahl I have to admit, that one terrified me the first time I read it. I was nine and eating candy. I'm sure you can see why.lol, yes I do Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alek Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 White Fang by Jack London was what caused me to have a great passion in literature, although the book that stands out in my memory the most as having a profound effect on me is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. The book that i enjoyed the most was Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk due to its unique style and structure. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Aahhh I forgot the Witches! I loved that one! Also George's Marvellous Medicine, Danny Champion of the World, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and the Fantastic Mr Fox were favourites! How did I forget Roald Dahl?! The Witches was way the best though, I was so genuinely scared by the witches (which I was confident=my teachers...) and strangely thrilled when he decided to stay as a mouse at the end. Then again I was also petrified of the farmers in Fantastic Mr Fox The film totally ruined that book, I have such fond memories of all the little foxes and being terrified of the farmers but loving the badger... what did they give me? American foxes, one small baby fox instead of all Mr Fox's children and a terribly distorted story. TERRIBLE I TELL YOU!I spent hours concocting my version of George's medicine, which was absolutely disgusting. To list some ingredients, the main flavours were probably malt vinegar, orange juice and cornflour - whenever I have a stomach bug, I still get flashbacks to this terrifying drink because it's the only thing I've ever drunk and then promptly returned back into the world.And a significant amount of time pretending to hide from gamekeepers in the woods, which once involved getting my dad hugely angry because I hid for slightly too long and basically scared my whole family that I'd disappeared.Roald Dahl basically designed my childhood White Fang was also amazing. I read and re-read that one so much - but actually I think maybe I read Call of the Wild even more! At one point aged 8 I decided to write a 'novel' and it was about wolves and the main wolf was called... White Fang Plagiarism FTW. So many hours pretending to be a wolf with all my friends (who I somehow also persuaded to pretend to be wolves) and all inspired by those books.This all reminds me how much I miss being able to live the world via imagination!Not an acceptable activity when you get big and old like me 3 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munich Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 Life of Pi by Yann MartelI was struck by the beauty of the writing and the originality of the story. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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