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random-jot · 3 years

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Books That Made Me

Tagged by @books-and-doodles to talk about some of the books that have impacted me most. Thank u for the tag!! This is a v cool tag - though it may take me some time to properly think about it

I've not put these in any particular order, just the order I think of them; I'm including some general favourites, some teen/childhood faves and maybe even some books that impacted me bc of how much I didn't like them - this should be fun, let's go!

1. The Lord Of The Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien

Fantasy fan includes LOTR on their list? Who saw that coming? ;D In seriousness tho; I grew up watching the LOTR movies as a kid, so the story'll always hold a special place in my heart for that alone, revisting the books OR movies always feels like coming home. ALSO: I distinctly remember finishing reading the books for the first time, sitting in the school library, closing the final page of ROTK and thinking "I want to be a writer. I want to write something like that one day." So not only is this a franchise that I loved when I was younger, it is also the reason that I decided I wanted to be a writer in the first place, so in terms of 'books that made me' this one quite unequivocally fits the bill. This book literally made me want to be a writer.

2. The Silmarillion/Tolkien's Legendarium

What you didn't think I was done talking Tolkien did you? After I'd read LOTR I wanted to read more Tolkien and ofc the Silmarillion was on offer - I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a few false starts on it, bc man that boi is d e n s e. However, after reading Silm for the first time I was blown away by it; the complexity of the lore and worldbuilding, the deepness and richness of the history to a world that I thought I loved before. These days, I've read Silm more times than LOTR (and maybe even - as a book - prefer it?) The stories of Beren and Lúthien, The Children Of Húrin, the rise and fall of Fëanor, the great war against the original dark lord Morgoth, the origin of the world itself, all of it together just stuck with me, it was just so beautifully intricate and so goddamned interesting to learn more about Beleriand and Middle Earth and Tolkien's world. Except for that geography chapter. That's one I admit I tend to skip on rereads.

(Just gonna pop a readmore here, as this inevitably ended up being quite long :D)

3. Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz

Before year 7 began, we were assigned a list of books by our school and had to choose one to read and do a report on. Me and pretty much every other boy I knew chose Alex Rider: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. Teenage spy & cool gadgets? What's not to like (other than the terrible movie adaptation). From there I was hooked on this series and desparate to read the other five books that were out (at the time). I remember the excitement when Snakehead, Crocodile Tears & Scorpia Rising were respectively announced, not to mention Russian Roulette? Never Say Die too, though by the time that came out I'd outgrown this series a little. Still, that doesn't take away from how big a fan i was, how much time i spent consuming this series (and coming up w/ my own story ideas for it, which I used to do a lot for things I liked). My love of this series is also partially what made me go see Kingsman: The Secret Service when it came out, which is one of my favourite movies, so i owe AR for that one. I'll always feel that nostalgic attachment for this series, and I'd definitely love to catch up with where the story is now at some point.

4. Goosebumps - R.L. Stine

The series that DOMINATED an entire row of my childhood bookshelf. Vividly remember trying to squeeze any new one I got onto that same shelf so they could all be together. Being honest Goosbumps books were always 50/50 in whether they were good or not, but there were some titles in that series that really did stick with me, either for the cool imagery/monsters or some genuinely scary sequences. How To Kill A Monster gave me nightmares and I adored The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena. Finding one i hadn't got already at a Scholastic book fair or at the school library was always such a thrilling moment.

5. Animorphs - K.A. Applegate

Well, I couldn't mention Goosebumps and not mention the other side of the same coin, could I now? I was never as big an Animorphs fan as I was goosebumps - in fact the reason I first got into it is bc there weren't any Goosebumps left in the kid's section one day at oxfam after school - but I still really enjoyed the books I did read. How often did I fantasise about being able to turn into a tiger or something because of these books? I only ever read about 5 or 6 of them, but it was fun to get a different perspective in each one & go on these mini-adventures, plus the concept behind the Yerks was just so terrifying as a child. No one to trust! I doubt I'll ever read every book, but I'd love it if netflix or someone did a Stranger Things-esque modern adaptation of it.

6. The Beano

While we're talking about childhood nostalgia, I gotta bring the Beano up. I happen to be a Gold Member of the Beano Club and you bet I've still got the card to prove it! I loved getting these delivered every week, seeing what Dennis, or Minnie, or Roger were getting up to. Though I was originally a staunch Dennis The Menace fan, Roger the Dodger soon became my fav. Always loved it when they did a crossover too, and soon enough I had a gigantic collection of Beano Annuals, both new and old dating back to the 60s. The word 'obsessed' gets bandied around a fair bit these days, but I don't think I'm being hyperbolic when I say I was obsessed with The Beano. I even had Dennis The Menace bubble bath at one point.

7. The Amazing Spider-Man - Stan Lee & Steve Ditko/John Romita

So I grew up with the Toeby/Raimi movies & loved them, plus just loved Spider-Man as a character. I've consumed a lot of SM related content over the years but I was genuinely surprised by how much I connected with the original comic run - a few years ago I got some TASM omnibus books, collecting the original issues & fan-letters which was super-cool to read just to see the original context of the character and how he grew from an obscure one-off to one of the most beloved comic-book characters today. My granny was going through a rough time around then, so I really connected with Peter's devotion to looking after his Aunt May. Sure, there were cheesy moments and some certain outdated things, but it was still really cool. I already knew I loved Spider-Man generally, but reading those Omni-Busses really cemented Peter Parker as one of my favourite fictional characters of all time.

8. Green Lanterns - Sam Humphries

Let's stick on the comic front for a moment. Green Lanterns is a comic run from a few years back, following two new Earth Green Lanterns who get chosen at the same time - Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz. They start as rivals but develop a really fun and close friendship as they have to work together.

However, what really cements this run in my heart is Jessica's character specifically - she may be a Green Lantern but she also suffers from extreme anxiety and the series doesn't shy away from the realities of what living with anxiety can be like. Especially as i was going through my own struggles with anxiety/depression at the time, I connected hard with that aspect of it. Plus, Sam Humphries, the writer, also suffers from anxiety, so knows how to depict it. It spoke to me on such a fundamental level and I love the reoccurring theme with Jess's character - that being a GL isn't about having no fear, but having the ability to overcome great fear - and she does that every morning convincing herself to get out of bed and go out into the world. That was something that really resonated with me.

Also the story itself is really cool, well-told and enjoyable to read. It's one of the only modern comic runs that I've bought every volume for, I was that invested.

7. The Cursed Child

This makes the list, not because I loved it, but because I FUCKING HATED IT. Since I've already mentioned I grew up with the LOTR movies and the Raimi Spider-Man trig, you can probably gather I also grew up with Harry Potter. I'm not as big on HP now as I once was, for a variety of reasons, but I still grew up with it and liked it a lot. I remember being excited for Cursed Child when it was announced. I remember getting the script-book for a decent price. I remember reading the first 20 pages or so, thinking 'okay... this isn't exactly what I was expecting.' And once the Candy-Lady started throwing muffin hand-grenades, that was probably when this turned into a hate-read for me. It wasn't all bad - some of it was just odd. But it felt like such a let-down, rehashing ideas from the original HP stories instead of being it's own thing, completely ignoring established traits of characters & established rules of the universe and also did I mention being fucking terrible. I was studying story-structure & story telling as part of my uni degree when I read this and let me tell you I was seething by the time I finished because of how bad the story was. Thinking back on it now still fills me with a potent rage. It is genuinely one of the worst books I've ever read. And I know people say 'oh it's better when you see on stage with the effects and everything' but that doesn't stop the base story from being absolute trash. I could go on and on about how much I hated this, but for now I'll say this is a book that made me - made me realise how much I could hate something.

8. A Song Of Ice And Fire - George R.R. Martin

OK let's get more positive. (Yes the show ended badly, good that obligatory disclaimer's out of the way, let's talk about the books now.) ASOIAF makes the list because it's the series that got me back into reading. I read a lot as a child and I read a lot now, but in my early teens I fell out of love with it. However, when Game of Thrones really began to become popular, I realised all my friends were reading the books of the series - and I was behind them. Not only was I motivated to read fast and try catch up, even overtake my friends where they were in the series, this series also showed me what modern fantasy could be. The grounded dangerous world made the stakes feel high, and it can't be denied that GRRM's character work is astounding, plus his intricate plotting in regards to all the intrigue and conspiracies and moving pieces that this series has to juggle is absolutely phenomenal. Juggling multiple characters and storylines across such a large world-map is damn difficult and even if we never do see TWOW, I still commend him for what he's managed to do so far. Not to mention, after I finished Dance With Dragons, I was so consumed by the series that nothing could feel the hole left by not having it to read anymore; it led me to spend two years devouring every fan-theory, sub-reddit, prediction I could find, just for a little taste of ASOIAF. Sure, the show left a sour taste and the wait for TWOW has dampened my level of investment in this series somewhat, but that doesn't take away from the effect it had on me at the time.

9. The First Law - Joe Abercrombie

So what I was saying up there about ASOIAF - How it was a series I was so invested in that when I finished, it was hard to find anything to fill that void? Well, in uni I read The First Law trilogy. Now that was a series I got invested in. I thought ASOIAF's characterisation was good? First Law is on another level. The Blade Itself was somewhat of a slowburn - I enjoyed the characters but did often find myself thinking 'ok but when are our main povs gonna meet? where's this going?' Before They Are Hanged I enjoyed more as it had a more traditional fantasy vibe - ragtag group on a quest, conspiracy in a city, war between armies and such. And then Last Argument of Kings... that book blew my damn mind. The complex characters and their grey morality, the dry humour of it all, the plot twists! The way Abercrombie was able to subvert certain fantasy tropes will still honouring other ones. There was legitimately a moment in Last Arg where I had to put the book down, I was so stunned by one of the big twists. After Last Arg I was pretty sure The First Law was my new favourite book series and reading the Great Leveller trilogy confirmed it. Sharp Ends and the current Age Of Madness books have continued being top quality. First Law has the top spot on my list of faves and it would take a very strong contender indeed to knock it off that throne.

10. The Gentleman Bastard Sequence - Scott Lynch

The Gentleman Bastard Sequence was a very strong contender indeed to knock First Law off that throne. First Law still has it's crown, but I will say I only began GBS this year and it's already cemented in my top ten, possible even as high as second place next to TFL. The Lies Of Locke Lamora was something I read just bc some friends had recc'd it, it was relatively small, and I wanted a book I could read in a week long holiday. I thought I might like it. Imagine my surprise when I absolutely loved it. TLOLL contained one of the most heartbreaking and shocking moments that I've read in fantasy and - devestating as it was - I think it was such a bold choice that that's why I liked it so much. The banter & friendship between the characters, especially Locke and Jean, the way all the flashbacks culminate by the end and you realise why we had them, the physical design of the world these books take place in. It was an excellent read. I liked Red Seas Under Red Skies just as much, if not more than TLOLL and I had so much fun with Republic Of Thieves.

11. The Waking Land Trilogy - Callie Bates

This is a series I finished this year and really loved, especially the 2nd book, The Memory Of Fire, and I want to shout it out because it's not that well known and I say it should be! Each book follows the perspective of a different character in the story - Elanna, Jahan, and Sophy, respectively. Each of them has a really cool backstory & personality, the romance between Elanna & Jahan is so sweet, and like Gentleman Bastards, one of my favourite characters - Rhia - has a caffeine addiction. The magic system in these books is unabshedly magical and very cool, but what really makes these books stand out is that they are written entirely in first-person present-tense. The sense that the things that are happening to these characters are happening Right Now is very engaging, especially in tense or action scenes. It's a very cool series with fun characters & magic and a really good story at it's heart. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't heard of this one.

12. The Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb

Again, one I only read this year, but still was absolutely gripped by. Regal's villain monologue from the end of Assassin's Apprentice blew me away - now that's how you write a villain speech! Plus the exploration of how scary telepathy can be, the character of Fitz and his friends, his relationships with The Fool, and Burrich, and Verity and Nighteyes; all good stuff. It's easy to see why this is considered a classic.

13. The Kingkiller Chronicle - Patrick Rothfuss

This series was a big highlight from last year. The Name of the Wind was an incredible read, I loved getting to know Kvothe's character, loved the intricacy of the magic system and all of the segments that take place at the University. I do agree with the majority that The Wise Man's Fear meandered a little too much, but it did contain some fantastic sequences - the early continuation of Kvothe and Ambrose's rivalries, and the fight in the forest were particular highlights. Also The Slow Regard Of Silent Things was a beautifully written book and a really cool insight into the mind of Auri and how she works as a character. I'll reserve full judgement of the series for when (if) The Doors Of Stone comes out, but so far it's been a very enjoyable series to read.

14. Mistborn: The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

I just recently read the first Mistborn book and loved it. Getting through a 700+ page book in less than a week is way faster than I normally read, so that should tell you that I got pretty damn invested in what was going on. Kelsier and Vin were fantastic characters & I loved everyone in the heist crew. More than that - so a few years ago I tried out Stormlight Archive and had a very tough time getting into it, which led me to just kind of write-off Sanderson for a while - however, reading Mistborn and liking it so much has renewed my faith in him and made me really want to have another proper go at Stormlight again. And, of course, I can't wait to finish the rest of Mistborn Era One.

15. Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey

Let's end with a curveball, shall we? So, I read these books as a kid and loved them - they were funny, campy, goofy and just a good time. I was always jealous of George and Harold being best friends who lived next door to each other! However, what really gets them their place on this list is the fact that George and Harold put together their own comic books and sold them on the school playground. Being the impressionable sponge of a child I was, this inspired me to start making my own comic books when I was in Primary School, coming up with my own characters and stories, drawning them out and stapling the pages together, ink on my hands. If I'd never read these, I might never have made my characters 'Remo' or 'Pluto Penguin.' I might never had rediscovered those characters and modernised them into the OCs that they are today. I've released five of my own comic books online so far (shameless plug) and I'm currently writing some short stories to explore them/the world more, and the fact that the protaganists of Captain Underpants (of all things) were themselves comic creators, played no small part int he inception of that part of my life. So that's why Captain Underpants series makes it onto the 'books that made me' list.

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Okay, that's my list of books that made me I guess. I'm sure there's something I've forgotten lol, but I had fun thinking up these and writing them!

Oh goodness, I really don't know who to tag in this, so I'll just say that If you see this & want to do it you can absolutely consider yourself tagged by me. Even you. Yes, you!

#tag game #books that made me #books #reading #bookblr #lotr #the silmarillion #gentleman bastards #the first law #jessica cruz #green lanterns #spider-man #yes good #the waking land trilogy #the waking land #et al

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wafflesandsyrup · 6 years

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About Me~

“tagged” by @vontacompton.

My Last:

1: Drink: Water, but maybe wine by the time this post is through. 2: Phone Call: @catneepx, an angel. 3: Text Message: Mom! 4: Song You Listened To: “Doesn’t Remind Me” by Audioslave 5: Time You Cried: Like five minutes ago. Not even an exaggeration, I cry over everything, and it’s triggered by every emotion. This time it was because I watched The Iron Giant for the millionth time.

Have You Ever:

9: Lost Someone Special: Yeah boi 10: Been Depressed: Yeahhhhhh boiiiiii 11: Gotten Drunk And Thrown Up: Once! I can’t even think of drinking a gin and tonic anymore. But I took it like a champ. It was super funny then and now, lmao. 12: Three Favorite Colors: Red, Blue, and Gray/Black tbh

In The Last Year Have You:

13: Made New Friends: Yes! More before I moved, but I have made a handful of friends recently. 14: Fallen Out Of Love: Nope! 15: Laughed Until You Cried: Absolutely. 16: Found Out Someone Was Talking About You: lol yeah 17: Met Someone Who Changed You: I don’t think so! I’m usually who changes myself. I don’t think I have ever changed because of someone else. 18: Found Out Who Your Friends Are: For sure. I don’t tolerate disrespect or pettiness lmao 19: Kissed Someone On Your Facebook list: My husband, so yes! 20: How Many Of Your Facebook Friends Do You Know In Real Life: All of them, even if I knew them briefly. 21: Do You Have Any Pets: I have a dog! Back in MO, I have another dog and a cat, who I miss a shit ton. 22: Do You Want To Change Your Name: No, though it was hard to let go of my last name when I got married. I’ll always hyphenate it on unofficial documents lmfao. My new one is pretty unusual, though. 23: What Did You Do For Your Last Birthday: I made a booze cake and drank at home, since Brendan won’t be 21 until October and I had no other friends in WA lol. 24: What Time Did You wake Up: 9:30 25: What Were You Doing At Midnight Last Night: Playing Skyrim 26: Name Something You Can’t wait For: I can’t wait to visit home in July, for the short term, and I can’t wait to achieve my goal of being a forensic nurse. 27: When Was The Last Time You saw Your Mom: November. I miss her so much. I am her number one fan. I’ll talk about my mom to everyone, she’s so smart, funny and pretty! 28: What Are You Listening To Right Now: Chopin’s “Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23″-- I’m planning on learning this on the piano soon, and I grew especially attached to it after watching Your Lie in April tbh. 29: Have You Ever Talked To A Person Named Tom: Actually, no.

General:

30: Something That Is Getting On Your Nerves: Boredom tbh, but that’s nothing new. My inability to relax, too! I just want restful sleep god dammit. 31: Most Visited Website: YouTube probs 32: Hair Color: Dirty blonde?? Light brown maybe?? some copper is in there too?????????? Idk anymore. 33: Long Or Short Hair: Short right now, though I want to have medium-length hair for a while before having long hair again. 34: Do You Have A Crush On Someone: I’m married, so I obviously do lmfao. 35: What Do You Like About Yourself: I like my personality-- I like making people laugh and how I look on the bright side of life (since I used to be a real big whiny pussybitch). 36: Piercings: Ears 37: Blood Type: Ok i’m gonna be fr I have no idea what my blood type is so if i need blood immediately i’m fucked 38: Nickname: Syrup! 39: Relationship Status: Married to my fav human. 40: Zodiac Sign: Capricorn 41: Pronouns: She/her 42: Favorite TV Show: the X-Files, though I also like Parks and Rec. 44: Right Or Left Handed: Right 45: Surgery: I got my tonsils removed as a kid (super shit) and my wisdom teeth removed (also suuuuuper shit). Once I am done losing weight, I’m going to have a breast reduction because this shit is out of control. 46: Sport: Softball/baseball 47: Vacation: I would like to visit Europe (particularly Ireland, England, Germany, and Italy) and Japan, China, and Korea. In the US I would like to visit each state at some point. 48: Pair of trainers/Sneakers or Tennis Shoes: I call them tennis shoes, and I have a nice black pair of running shoes which are super comfy.

More General:

49: Eating: an apple lol 50: Drinking: wine 51: I’m About To: fold laundry and play more Skyrim, probably, maybe, hopefully. 52: Waiting For: Death to Take Its Inevitable Toll on my Flesh Prison 53: Want: hugs, friends, to be able to eat like a fat piece of shit w/o being a fat piece of shit lmfao help 54: Get Married: check 55: Career: I want to be a forensic nurse. I love working with the human body, always have, and I have always been fascinated with the forensic industry. I’ve wanted to do something that makes me happy and does something to get justice for people who have been hurt, and the moment I decided upon this career path I felt like everything finally made sense. A huge weight left my shoulders, that’s for sure.

Which Is Better:

56: Hugs Or Kisses: Hugs! I love hugging. I hug everyone bc I have a lot of platonic love to give every single person. 57: Lips Or Eyes: yo’ peepers! 58: Shorter Or Taller: I’d say similar height or taller because I am incredibly short, but personality is what seals the deal for me in the end. 59: Older Or Younger: about the same age, give or take a year (since my husband is about a year younger than me), or older. I wouldn’t be able to stand someone all that much younger than me if we’re being honest here lmfao 60: Nice Arms Or Nice Stomach: Stomach?????? 61: Hook Up Or Relationship: Relationship, for the other person’s sake. I’m too much of a goof for hooking up and I’d make someone feel insecure for cracking a joke in the middle of some sort of sexual encounter. It is literally impossible for me to take sex seriously. Also, I just prefer the companionship part of relationships over the physical. 62: Troublemaker Or Hesitant: Troublemaker, but not like... a felon or anything. Just goofy, without shame, and kind of annoying. Like me. But being reasonable when appropriate is important, too.

Have You Ever:

63: Kissed A Stranger: Yeahhhhhhh, immediate regret (cigarette mouth!). 64: Drank Hard Liquor: ya 65: Lost Glasses/Contact Lenses: every gd day dawg. and it’s partially because in order to find my glasses I need my glasses to see them. 66: Turned Someone Down: hoooooooo boy, yes, yes, yes. 68: Broken Someones Heart: HOOOOOOOOO boy, yes. I was always caught off guard by it, because I never see someone as potential relationship material, but always as bff material, until they make it explicitly clear. It just wouldn’t feel right to assume they may have a thing for me. So, most of my friends in life have been guys, and I have had to deal with a lot of uncomfortable confessions and rejection from said pals. I hate hurting people, and they’re often very hurt by my rejection, and I end up losing friends over it. I don’t even like thinking about it lol. 69: Had Your Heart Broken: Yup! Abusively and tragically. Some Carrie shit, haha. It doesn’t impact me now, except for making me angry. 70: Been Arrested: I’m a straight edge dude. 71: Cried When Someone Died: Duh 72: Fallen For A Friend: I can’t fall for someone unless we are friends, so yes! Brendan was my BFF for a while until he told my oblivious ass he wanted to date me.

Do You Believe In:

73: Yourself: Yes! The only person you can always depend upon, no matter what, is yourself. 74: Miracles: hmmmm, maybe. I’ll say yes, but my skeptical mind will always question. 75: Love At First Sight: Attraction at first sight, maybe. I believe in friendship at first sight, if we’re being honest. I see someone and just get this feeling that we could be awesome friends. Love is something much more deep rooted for me. 76: Santa Claus: I believe in My Dad 78: Angels: I’m not sure. I’m open to the possibility, due to the limitations set by existing as a human, but I’m not Christian or anything. I feel like there’s “something” out there, but I’m just a dumb human and will likely never be able to know for sure. I think human beings can be deemed angels.

Other:

79: Current Best Friend’s Name: Casi/Stephanie (I love them both so much my dudes). 80: Eye Color: Green/Hazel (more green than hazel tho-- it’s really cool because i have a fleck of gold in one of my irises, and my grandma has the same fleck of gold) 81: Favorite Movie: I couldn’t narrow it down to one. I love the LOTR movies, The Sixth Sense, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spirited Away, Saving Private Ryan...... the list goes on forever. My family has always been a big movie family.

im not tagging anyone lol

#long post #tagged

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