The 5 Most Influential Books in My Life

[matle]

The Magician (R Feist) - put me firmly in the fantasy camp

1984 & Brave New World - I adore them both

Remaining two...hmm The Hobbit & Dune I think.

A lot of it comes from when you first read them I think!

 

[kshRox]

Interesting Question.....
That there are two Orson Scott Card books on this list shocks me in a way. I have stopped reading his books since I felt betrayed by the Songs From Distant Earth series.

I enjoyed Enders Game very much and the rest of the series was pretty good.

Other than that though I don't think I've read anything else by Orson Scott Card. What is in the Songs from Distant Earth series that alarmed you? His books seemed pretty tame as far as content. He dealt with adult themes but seemed to handle them with tact.

Just curious.

 

[Parson]

I enjoyed Enders Game very much and the rest of the series was pretty good.

Other than that though I don't think I've read anything else by Orson Scott Card. What is in the Songs from Distant Earth series that alarmed you? His books seemed pretty tame as far as content. He dealt with adult themes but seemed to handle them with tact.

Just curious.

I felt he gamed me/us. The books were in reality a re-write of the book of Mormon in a SF setting. If he had said this at the opening I would have decided to read or not read with that information. But I felt played, and haven't quite forgiven him for that yet.

 

[Alex The G and T]

20000 Leagues under the Sea - Jules Verne.
Captains Courageous - Rudyard Kipling
War of the Worlds - HG Wells.
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

In no particular order.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I felt he gamed me/us. The books were in reality a re-write of the book of Mormon in a SF setting. If he had said this at the opening I would have decided to read or not read with that information. But I felt played, and haven't quite forgiven him for that yet.

He's LDS - if it was a straight rewrite he missed all my favourite bits. However, he is LDS and if he follows the ideals he will read the Book of Mormon for at least 30 minutes everyday so in his lifetime will have read more than 40 times - I personally am surprised how little of his religion is in his writings.

I was LDS for 18 years (haven't been for five and if my cosy mystery ever gets published I'll probably be excommunicated), but I'm amazed at how much still creeps into the ideas in my books.

Just like your Christianity will creep in and may not be deliberate. The books are hardly a rewrite of the Book of Mormon but they do have occasional influences of his works. No need to feel cheated.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I felt he gamed me/us. The books were in reality a re-write of the book of Mormon in a SF setting. If he had said this at the opening I would have decided to read or not read with that information. But I felt played, and haven't quite forgiven him for that yet.

He's LDS - if it was a straight rewrite he missed all my favourite bits. However, he is LDS and if he follows the ideals he will read the Book of Mormon for at least 30 minutes everyday so in his lifetime will have read more than 40 times - I personally am surprised how little of his religion is in his writings.

I was LDS for 18 years (haven't been for five and if my cosy mystery ever gets published I'll probably be excommunicated), but I'm amazed at how much still creeps into the ideas in my books.

Just like your Christianity will creep in and may not be deliberate. The books are hardly a rewrite of the Book of Mormon but they do have occasional influences from his life just like any other writer. No need to feel cheated.

 

[aaronbev79]

I felt he gamed me/us. The books were in reality a re-write of the book of Mormon in a SF setting. If he had said this at the opening I would have decided to read or not read with that information. But I felt played, and haven't quite forgiven him for that yet.

Isn't forgiveness a mandate in your religion?

Should people feel the same about The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe? (rhetorical question)

Come on. Just because someone has a tilt toward a certain belief doesn't mean that they have to tell sensitive readers what their book is about ahead of time. Why do Christians assume that their worldview is so central, and thus feel betrayed if others don't feel the same?

More important than his religious predilections, Card's writing is really bad at times. I enjoyed Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, but couldn't read any further because of how poor his story telling became--regardless of its content.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

At the risk of getting myself into trouble, if it is a rewrite Joseph Smith was a much better writer/storyteller.

 

[Parson]

He's LDS - if it was a straight rewrite he missed all my favourite bits. However, he is LDS and if he follows the ideals he will read the Book of Mormon for at least 30 minutes everyday so in his lifetime will have read more than 40 times - I personally am surprised how little of his religion is in his writings.

I was LDS for 18 years (haven't been for five and if my cosy mystery ever gets published I'll probably be excommunicated), but I'm amazed at how much still creeps into the ideas in my books.

Just like your Christianity will creep in and may not be deliberate. The books are hardly a rewrite of the Book of Mormon but they do have occasional influences of his works. No need to feel cheated.

But as I understand it this isn't a case of his religion feeding his writings. I was fairly convinced he was a believer of some sort before I ever knew that he was a Mormon. But in communications with another Mormon about OSC, she said, "It's all an inside joke. The whole series is basically a rewrite of the book of Mormon." When I looked at it with that insight a lot of things started making sense which did not make sense before.

Also, at that time I was finding the story rather boring and this insight just made my decision to stop reading it easier.

Isn't forgiveness a mandate in your religion?

Should people feel the same about The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe? (rhetorical question)

Come on. Just because someone has a tilt toward a certain belief doesn't mean that they have to tell sensitive readers what their book is about ahead of time. Why do Christians assume that their worldview is so central, and thus feel betrayed if others don't feel the same?

More important than his religious predilections, Card's writing is really bad at times. I enjoyed Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, but couldn't read any further because of how poor his story telling became--regardless of its content.

I do forgive him. And, yes, I am called to forgive as I have been forgiven, but that doesn't mean that I have to read his books. I would have liked very much if he had said what he was doing up front. Some of OSC's writing is bad. The above series proves that point but some are very, very, good. One of my all time favorite novels is his "Song Master." A stand alone novel which I don't think has ever received the credit or accolades it deserves.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I think to be honest the other LDS you were talking to is probably trotting out something she heard, Mormons have urban legends that are uniquely their own - it certainly isn't an inside joke I heard in what is a fairly small, and quite news gossipy international community. The Children's army has similarities to something called the Stripling Warriors and the brothers relationship is reminiscent of the one in the early Book of Mormon, but similar relationships are found in the Bible - the only other similarities I can think of are just as Biblical as they are LDS specific. The actual universe design is irreconcilable with the basics of Mormon Doctrine. There is way more unintentional LDS theology in my fantasy.

 

[kshRox]

I felt he gamed me/us. The books were in reality a re-write of the book of Mormon in a SF setting. If he had said this at the opening I would have decided to read or not read with that information. But I felt played, and haven't quite forgiven him for that yet.

I think I did read this but didn't remember the name and didn't know OSC was the author.

The plot is literally the BOM only set on an alien planet or something?
Nephi or whatever they call him cows his brothers and slays Laban to get a history of earth or something?

Wow, that was Orson Scott Card?
I wound up throwing the book away without finishing it cause it was too weird for me.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I should agree with the issue that I can't stand his writing style and actually read it before I realised he was LDS (my best friends at school were sci-fi buffs and insisted I did). I did enjoy his Women of Genesis stories. I'm just not seeing the Book of Mormon rewrite

 

[Parson]

I think to be honest the other LDS you were talking to is probably trotting out something she heard, Mormons have urban legends that are uniquely their own - it certainly isn't an inside joke I heard in what is a fairly small, and quite news gossipy international community. The Children's army has similarities to something called the Stripling Warriors and the brothers relationship is reminiscent of the one in the early Book of Mormon, but similar relationships are found in the Bible - the only other similarities I can think of are just as Biblical as they are LDS specific. The actual universe design is irreconcilable with the basics of Mormon Doctrine. There is way more unintentional LDS theology in my fantasy.

Hm, now that is something I hadn't considered. (Picture of Parson realizing that he does seem to believe that people know what they are talking about before it is proven that they do not, even on the internet.) It might well be, because like you say, "the actual universe design is irreconcilable with the basics of Mormon Doctrine."

It seemed logical to me because of the frequency of the Biblical names in the series, and to a degree the relationships that the main characters had to one another. {POFF! another pet theory goes up in smoke.)

I think I did read this but didn't remember the name and didn't know OSC was the author.

The plot is literally the BOM only set on an alien planet or something?
Nephi or whatever they call him cows his brothers and slays Laban to get a history of earth or something?

Wow, that was Orson Scott Card?
I wound up throwing the book away without finishing it cause it was too weird for me.

Yep, I would reckon that you are remembering one of OSC's lesser lights.(insert cowboy smiley here.)

 

[J-Sun]

What series are we talking about? I can find no reference to "Songs from Distant Earth". If we're talking about the "Homecoming" series which begins with The Memory of Earth, I'd say it was pretty indisputable that it was based on Mormonism. He even addresses Parson's concern but I'm not sure how mollified Parson will be since it's something quite distinct to be modelling yourself on Gibbon vs. trying to retell Mormonism. I don't know many Gibbonites who think the status of their souls rests on his accuracy. But I only scanned the verbose essay - I can't read him at all.

But it's my understanding that Alvin Maker and lots more are all based on Mormonism and even bits of it are in the Ender books. Basically, it informs everything he writes, just like AnyaKimlin says it does his/hers.

But I dislike even Ender's Game (which I think is one of the "gaming" novels of all time, in Parson's sense rather than in Ender's) and Speaker for the Dead and Songmaster and what short fiction I've read and disliked it all before I became aware of his personal issues so this is just based on what I've picked up in passing and a quick web search.

---

I've been following this thread and have started to post on it myself but haven't been able to come up with a list that seemed on topic and correct. Basically, I'd say that two of the most influential works I've read have been (speaking of Gibbon) Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy, which really got me reading SF and turned me into an SF fan as such. Also, I'd say Will and Ariel Durant's The Story of Civilization. I didn't read the first (Oriental) of the 11 volumes and only scanned the last few when they got bogged down in excessive detail on France vs. everything else (and might have nodded through the very large The Age of Faith), but I devoured the bulk of the 2nd-7th volumes (The Life of Greece to The Age of Reason Begins) and, whatever its scholarly merits with historical detail, the comprehensive cultural view was very powerful and helped inspire me to view things much more holistically and temporally and try to fill in a lot of gaps in my readings/awareness from Greece to America. This also made me much more interested in viewpoints like Hegel's and Spengler's which might not have been Durant's expectation.

I don't want to give too much credit to either of them in that I'd seen science fiction and perhaps read it without really knowing it and I was fascinated by 20th century military history even as a small child but the Asimov and Durant definitely mark entirely different levels.

But, after that, it becomes much harder to isolate one thing over another. So there's a likely two of the five.

 

[kshRox]

What series are we talking about?

The Memory of Earth from The Homecoming Saga is the one I started to read.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Card's work, by and large, is absolutely influenced by mormonism. Folk of the fringe is probably the most obvious, bd the first novella in that has never left me. He is a marmite writer,and i love his stuff, but dont endorse his private views.

Five most influential books, gosh....most wont be sff, im afraid

Lord of the flies, i love the imagery and characterisation

Waiting for godot, i hope i am allowed plays. The bravery to do your own thing and to hell with the audience.

To kill a mocking bird. Ditto, personal bravery. Both the author and scout.

Salems lot. I like king, i think he tells gret stories and this is so well structured and characterised.

Narnia, because they gave me my love of the fantastical.

But personal bravery is at the heart of these. Interesting, nice exercise.

 

[clovis-man]

He's LDS - if it was a straight rewrite he missed all my favourite bits. However, he is LDS and if he follows the ideals he will read the Book of Mormon for at least 30 minutes everyday so in his lifetime will have read more than 40 times - I personally am surprised how little of his religion is in his writings.

Au contraire (italics mine). I am of the opposite opinion. But it doesn't stop me from reading his books and following his blog.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I'll find another thread lol - I'm not denying his influences just the idea that he intentionally rewrote the Book of Mormon. Alvin's Maker the title indicates something more deliberate. However, most of Card's universe designs are at odds with his religious beliefs. It's very hard not to be influenced by something that informs every inch of your life.

 

[kshRox]

I'll find another thread lol - I'm not denying his influences just the idea that he intentionally rewrote the Book of Mormon. Alvin's Maker the title indicates something more deliberate. However, most of Card's universe designs are at odds with his religious beliefs. It's very hard not to be influenced by something that informs every inch of your life.

He did, nearly verbatim.
Even the names of the characters were reflective of the BOM characters.

Check it out if you dont' think so.
And I read the BOM myself so I'm not making a mistake.

 

[Abernovo]

Hmm, not too much SFF here, I'm afraid, but I've concentrated on those that not only influenced, but also inspired me - and that covers more than any one genre. I'll stick clear of the Orson Scott Card debate. I'm not well-versed in his work, among other things.

The Children of the New Forest, by Captain Marryat. I loved the romance and the adventure of the tale. It was a book that made me, as a child, imagine what else might have happened in that forest, what tales were left untold. For me that is the very definition of inspiration. It made me want to spin out stories of my own imagination.

Ossian, by James Macpherson. Sure, he wrote them himself, but the debate has always centred around whether they were, at least in part, based on tales that existed within the Gaelic culture he grew up in. Legends and myth were part of my childhood and an inspirational teacher introduced me to this and the tales from Celtic mythology.

Cider With Rosie, by Laurie Lee. Reminiscences of childhood in rural England of the early 20th Century. I could identify with the rural aspects and my grandmother had told me stories of her own childhood that had similarities. What most influenced me though, was the voice of the average life. This wasn't the rich landowner or the distant (for me) office worker, but someone who started in a similar environment to my own, if sixty-odd years prior.

Foundation, by Isaac Asimov. The idea of a distant civilisation with a logical outlook, governed by principles of pschohistory, appealed to me. It perhaps even influenced my study of environmental economics, looking at and trying to predict trends in nature reserve visitor numbers, for instance.

The Book of Skulls, by Robert Silverberg. It's not a perfect novel, but it was hugely influential for me. Without leaving any spoilers, I was suddenly presented with a story where the protagonists weren't all perfectly healthy, 'normal' people. There were outcasts, the shy and the fallible in Silverberg's tale. Real people. For a teenager struggling with being the outsider once again, it was a reminder that other voices could exist, perhaps even my voice.


There are a few others that should be here but I can only have five. Ivanhoe, by Walter Scott and The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas were first read by me around the time of The Children of the New Forest, but I read Marryat's novel first, so will let it represent all three. Conversely, The Caves of Steel was my glorious introduction to Asimov's writing, but Foundation's ideas inspired me to think of greater things. I could have included half a dozen Jules Verne novels, or some of Andre Norton's work for SFF. I very nearly had Bright Ring of Water, by Gavin Maxwell - a book that helped set me on my career path - instead of Lee's reminiscences.