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Monday 25 November 2019

Books that influenced my life

Since I had a streaming cold last week I took a break from Long and Short Reviews' blog hop, but this topic had me thinking. I've read a lot of books in my life, but how many could be considered influential? I did, however, come up with a few possibilities.

Royal Blood - Bertram Fields. I love reading history, but my main interest at the time was Henry VIII. This book made me a staunch Ricardian and plunged me into the Wars of the Roses.

Gavin Maxwell: A Life - Douglas Botting. This was the first biography I ever read and was about a man I knew nothing of at the time, but introduced me to Maxwell's writing and also to the joy of reading biographies, even when you may not know much of the person in question.

Kiss Me Like A Stranger - Gene Wilder. Gene Wilder has always been a favourite of mine and was also the primary inspiration behind my novel Photograph. To get an insight into his life was fascinating.

So which books have influenced you?

14 comments:

  1. I haven't heard of any of those books (though I just LOVE Gene Wilder). AHA … clicked through and found out who Gavin Maxwell is. What made you pick up that book since you didn't know who he was?

    I'm here today: http://www.mariannearkins.com/wednesday-weekly-blogging-challenge-books-that-influenced-my-life/

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    1. Primarily because the photo on the cover was of him holding an otter, and when I looked at the blurb it mentioned he had trained Terry Nutkins in animal care. I had always loved The Really Wild Show so thought it could be interesting.

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  2. I'd never heard of Gavin Maxwell, but now I'm curious to learn about his life!

    My post.

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    1. He had a remarkably interesting life for someone who was mostly out of the spotlight.

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  3. You've got me interested in Gavin Maxwell now. https://pmprescott.blogspot.com/2019/11/wednesday-challenge-books-that.html

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  4. I love Kiss Me Like A Stranger. It was sad, but also sweet and made me think a lot. Good list!!

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  5. wow, I've not heard of any of these books. I'll have to check 'em out. Thanks for sharing! Here are mine. https://www.tenastetler.com/lsrs-wednesdays-blog-challenge-books-that-influenced-my-life/

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  6. Hoping that you're feeling better this week!

    Ah, I love Gene Wilder. His version of Willy Wonka is the only one I accept. :)

    My post

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    1. Much better, thanks - and I agree on Willy Wonka!

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  7. Interesting selections. (I wonder if it says anything profound about me that my selections were all fiction? Probably not.)

    My list is here.

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