I
have always enjoyed reading. My local library, Westcliff was a mere
five minute walk from my home and I was a regular visitor there.
My
mind turned recently to the works of fiction I have tackled over the
years, and particularly to those that I tackled in my formative
years.
Here
are ten books that I feel had this biggest influence on me as a
teenager.
Robert
Heinlein – Stranger In A Strange Land
Anatole
France – Penguin Island
Mikhail
Bulgakov – The Master And Margarita
John
Wyndham – The Chrysalids
Charles
Dickens – David Copperfield
George
Orwell – Animal Farm
Lewis
Carroll – Alice In Wonderland
Perseus
and other Greek myths
William
Golding – The Lord Of The Flies
John
Steinbeck – The Grapes Of Wrath
These
are in no particular order, and represent a fraction of what I read
in my teenage years.
My
recollection of some of these stories is fuzzy, for others they are
still quite vivid.
I
recall the hot summer of ‘76, and hours spent in Chalkwell Park
tackling Stranger In A Strange Land. I remember stumbling across
Animal Farm during the fag end of my school days; it was revelatory.
In my bedsit days I tackled the likes of David Copperfield and The
Grapes Of Wrath.
Greek
myths was an early read, and I still remember the tales of Theseus
and Jason.
Much
of my reading was driven by the demands of my schooling, but I was
also curious.
