If you've been keeping up with my writing challenge check-ins this month, then you know I've made some online writing friends. This week's Book Love post comes from one such new friend, Morgan Dragonwillow, who writes on three different blogs: Writer's Universe, Shadow Rhythms, and Dragonwillow Journeys in addition to working towards completing her creative writing projects. Every writer is influenced by the reading they do in their life, so to get a taste for what we can expect from Morgan in the future, here is her book love history in her own words.
The first book I can remember falling into a serious book love crush with was The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton in the ninth grade; I was fourteen years old. Before that I didn't much like reading; it was a family issue. I can still remember how I felt while I was reading that book. It was like walking into a magical world where nothing else mattered except what was going on within those pages. I happily lived there to the very last page.
The Outsiders was actually the first book that was on a reading list for school that I liked and wanted to read. The characters were close to my age, and well yeah, they were outsiders and that is what I was. I never fit in and I definitely could relate. It was the first book that made me cry. Wait... I think I cried when I read Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry in grade school too. Wow I had completely forgotten about that book. I wanted to go back in time and help her rescue slaves. (I was eleven years old and I never reread Harriet Tubman.)
I believe I did reread The Outsiders once about a year later but as I grew older, I lost interest in reading it.
When I was in my early twenties I began reading romance novels. I cringe even to admitting that. I preferred reading books that had a bit of adventure, were magical, and with a little mystery thrown in.
I quickly found the wonderful world of Fantasy. I was in love. I devoured the Arrows of the Queen Series by Mercedes Lackey. I don't even know how many times I have reread them. They are like an old friend that I revisit from time to time. Once again it was about an outsider that didn't fit in with her people. I remember staying up late and never wanting to put the book down. It was magical, there were companions that were like horses only better, and most of the main characters had some form of power that they used for good. Just writing about them makes me want to go find the first in the series to read again.
I often tell others about this series of books. Every time I hear an adult say they love Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling I say, "Oh, if you like Harry Potter, you should read Arrows of the Queen because it is like an adult version of Harry Potter; which I loved by the way."
I didn't even know about the Harry Potter series until the third or fourth book was already out. I saw something on television that showed people standing in line for the most recent book release. I didn't understand. This was a children's book, right? Why were people of all ages in line to get this book? I had to find out what this was all about.
I read the first Harry Potter book in one sitting pretty quickly. I loved it. I read all the books that were already out and then impatiently waited for the rest to be published. When it was time for the last Harry Potter book to be released, my partner and I decided to go to the Midnight Party at Borders. We had a blast. This last book I stayed up reading all night and into the day to finish in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. I don’t think I even ate or drank much. I remember being on the floor that night in my room, with a flashlight, so that I wouldn't disturb my partner. We had a full house then and even the living room had someone sleeping in it.
My latest book love is the Twilight series. I resisted it for a long time. All four books in the series were already out. I thought it was some silly teenage book and didn't understand what the entire ruckus was about. When the Twilight movie came out, I thought maybe I should go ahead and get the first book; just to see if it was any good. I couldn't put it down. I know some may think it is silly but I loved it. I have reread the first and last book twice and I am about to reread the second and third books.
All of the books that I most love have a common theme. I guess you can say I can relate to misfits and outsiders being a child that never fit in; that grew into an adult that didn't fit into a typical mold. These books helped me to see I am not the only one that has felt out of sync with the rest of the world; that good can prevail over evil, and happy endings are possible even if they aren't what you thought they would be.
No comments:
Post a Comment