Top 5 Lists or How I Evolved as a Reader

Let's face it, at some point there was going to be a list post.  I figured I would go ahead and get the first one out of the way.

I was thinking about how I have evolved as a reader, and that got me to thinking about the Top 5 books that have contributed to that evolution.

I am doing this list in the order that I read them, as opposed to a true countdown 5-1 type of list, since it's really just too difficult to label some better than others, but the first book on this list has to be, you guessed it, "Fight Club".

"Fight Club" is what really got me interested in reading.  I read as a child, but as a teenager I couldn't care less about reading, but man Chuck Palahniuk really got a hold of me with this book, and I know he got you guys as well, considering Chuck may have been the stepping stone that started our friendships (outside of FIJI).  Without "Fight Club" I wouldn't have begun my journey into reading, or discovered that I had this ability to create scenes in my head like I am watching it on screen.  As I continue to read the works of Chuck Palahniuk, I found myself branching out to other Authors, but the first book that really made me feel that I was evolving as a reader was "Cat's Cradle"

"Cat's Cradle" is a fantastic piece of of Fiction, by fellow Hoosier Kurt Vonnegut.  "Breakfast of Champions" was actually the first book of his that I read, and "Time Quake" was the first that I owned, but Cradle was the first that spoke to me and made really look forward to reading works from other authors.  It was like Chuck had the ability to make you think, but Kurt had the ability to make you question what you were thinking, even though he already told you what was going on.  He had this ability to make you feel like you could read anything, but I didn't actually KNOW I could read anything until I read "Shogun".

"Shogun" was my first test as a reader.  Just looking at the book in paperback, and knowing how small the font is, and that it is still upwards of 1300 pages was just frightening!  So the key was to just buckle down and open the front cover and start reading.  Instantly Clavell transported me into history and into the mind John Blackthorne (Anjin-San) and Japanese culture back in the 17th century.  The story was amazing, the characters were intense and it was the first book that I was so enamored with that I couldn't get scenes from the book out of my head.  While reading it, I actually felt like I was a part of 17th century Japan.  "Shogun" made me feel like I could read anything, but at this point in my evolution, I started to realize that my quest for a good story wasn't limited to any one specific genre and I decided to go back and give myself the magic of a great story, that I was robbed of as a child, simple because I was born in the 80's.  Finally I picked up "Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone".

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone" gets the nod, because this is the first book that made me feel that I was never to old to escape into a completely fictional magical world.  It was also the first book series that I read, which I discovered very quickly that it was something that I loved.  I mean sure Vonnegut would have Kilgore Trout appear in multiple books, but there was nothing like being able to follow and grow with the same characters over time and multiple books.  I used to regret that I waited to read the series, but I don't now because reading them as an adult I believe has made me enjoy them even more than I would have as a child.  It has also made me appreciate young adult fiction in a way, that I don't believe I could have as an actual young adult.  As a reader this series taught me one thing about what I enjoy about reading the most, which is the characters.  You place an ensemble of great characters together, and a story just comes together.  If you can expand the story of a characters or characters in multiples books creating a fictional universe it just gets even better!  Which brings me to the last book on my list of evolution.  "Heir to the Empire".

"Heir to the Empire" combined my love of Star Wars and new found love of characters and their ever expanding stories.  The Star Wars Expanded Universe is so vast and ever growing that any time I am stumped on what to read next, I always feel able to go back and check on the Skywalkers and Solo's, or even check in on The Clone Wars and how the republic is doing.  The universe also helped me expand on my love for all kinds of science fiction.

Although I am still evolving as a reader and continue to branch out, but for the past 13 years I believe these are the works that get credit for steering me in the direction for what I choose to read today, and to be honest the two of you should share some of that credit, because a lot of what I read early on is based on your recommendations (most of it still is).  Which brings me to my question.  What do you think has pushed you guys along your evolutionary path of reading?

Mysteries, Truths and Elephants

Teaching 4th grade, I've found that there is more to all of us at any age than we like to let on. We are like the Little Prince's drawing of the boa constrictor...or is it a hat? We look at something and we think we've got it pegged until we look again. We realize that questions abound when full-bellied boa constrictors could be hats, but most of us don't stare long enough or question hard enough to figure out whether it is a boa constrictor or a hat. All this talk of boa constrictors and hats has my head rattled (see what I did there?), to which most would give it up and go on questioning whether it is in fact a boa constrictor or a hat. But I'm not most people and I demand to know whether this boa constrictor has swallowed something large, say, an elephant, or whether it is a simple hat. Could it be both? Or is the boa constrictor more than just a stuffed snake? Is it filled with more than just an elephant? Is there more to this simple creature? My students are boa constrictors, and I look at each of them as being filled with more than a simple explanation, like an elephant, could do justice. They are filled with mystery and truths that age has hidden from me, and I, unlike many they encounter in their lives, bother to look for them. Children do not acknowledge their mysteries but the magic in their eyes is a subconscious acknowledgement, and I only seek to give them that benefit of acknowledgement. Like the Little Prince, they merely wish their mysteries to be acknowledged, not figured out.

from Antione St. Exupery's classic, The Little Prince.

Introduction

Welcome to Books over a Beer (or two). This is the brain child of Jonathon, Mike, and I (Nick). The three of us have been discussing, hashing out and waxing philosophical about books, movies TV shows and what ever else, for more than 10 years. Literally last night Jonathon and I were discussing the finer military strategies and morality issues that "Ender's Game" brought up over 20 years ago, when Jonathon said "Hey we should start a blog called "Books over a Beer". So the blog title was born and this adventure started (thanks to Mike for claiming this little slice of cyber heaven that we now call home!). To give a little back story on us. We are all three college fraternity brothers and very proud to be Fijis. We all reside and work in or near the Indianapolis area. Though time and life has put us on different trajectories our passion for all things Sci-Fi, books and brotherhood have kept us in contact.


So what will be discussed you might ask? Great question and to answer that, pretty much anything we want. Most of what we discuss revolves around Sci-Fi. Though our individual tastes vary we do talk religion, politics and social issues. We are all huge fans of Star Wars, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead to name a few.Initially we will probably just post and comment on the others post, evently we would like to put up video to this blog.

Our goals for this blog are to give us another medium to put our thoughts on, have fun and to give us a reason to get together talk about what ever and drink a beer or two! But what ever you do don't tell our wives! :)



Nick

Books Over a Beer (or Two)

The idea to start this blog was a fantastic one and I am glad that you guys thought of it!  It will be great for us to express and share our excitement over the books we are reading without having our wives rolling their eyes in the background (okay lets face it, they are still rolling their eyes).

That being said, finding some sort of masculinity while reading a young adult novel with a female lead, is not an easy thing to do, but so far "Divergent" is a very good series!  The Author, Veronica Roth, is following what I consider to be George Lucas's formula for a great trilogy.

Book 1 (Divergent) Sets the stage, by introducing you to the characters and the world they live in, which can best be described as a faux utopian society.  Like "A New Hope" the story begins slowly, but then BOOM, you are on the Death Star rescuing the princess, and the main characters world is completely turned around.  This process continues into Book 2 (Insurgent).  Like "Empire..." There is a lot of action, and most importantly revelation about the world the characters live in...

Next time your in the mood for a young adult series, I certainly recommend this one!

Update: Finished "Insurgent" last night...  Can't really say much more than that.