In 2020 I’m answering a list of 52 journal questions. Read about it here.
A book that has influenced your life?
I don’t have “a” book, I have books. And not just any books, but books by particular authors. So I guess you could say I have authors that have influenced my life. But it has been quite a significant influence.
I’ll break the authors into two groups. The first group has 3 authors in it:
- Gerald Durrell
- James Herriot
- David Attenborough
Gerald Durrell was a naturalist who wrote many books about his family (eg My Family and Other Animals) as well as books about his career collecting wildlife for zoos, including his own (eg A Zoo in my Luggage).
James Herriot was the pen name of Yorkshire vet James Alfred Wight. The books loosely depict his life and stories of his work. The first book is If Only they Could Talk.
David Attenborough is a journalist who segued into also becoming a natural historian. The first of his books I had was 1979’s Life on Earth.
Can you sense a theme amongst these authors? Thanks to them and their books, which I devoured, reading over and over, I became and environmental scientist.
The second group has 2 authors:
- Agatha Christie
- Dick Francis
Agatha Christie, the Queen of Mystery, shouldn’t need any introduction. Dick Francis was first a jockey (most notably for the Queen Mother) then a journalist and novelist. His books were crime novels set in the horse racing industry in some way.
Again, a theme! These two authors cemented my love of mystery books. This is why I am writing cozies (mystery) stories.
I’m not sure anyone else has influenced my career choices as much as these 5 authors.
Has a book or author influenced you?
February 21, 2020 at 10:11 pm
I always feel like an outsider amongst my writing/blogging friends because I don’t have a book or author who has profoundly changed my life? Or music or movies. It seems like so many people I know have something like that they can instantly answer when asked and I’m just like 🤷♀️
February 23, 2020 at 7:46 am
I would have thought I was unusual in that regard. Maybe for you it isn’t so much a book or author but a genre. Think about what you write and what you do for a job 😉
February 22, 2020 at 4:08 am
Loved James Herriot–read everything he wrote and was inspired. And I love Agatha Christie. Am I mistaken that she was a better writer than person?
February 23, 2020 at 7:47 am
I think she had a troubled life, Jacqui. Although whether that’s just because of those missing days in her life or whether it was bigger than that I’m not sure.
February 22, 2020 at 5:53 am
That’s a very good answer. I dislike questions about *one* book or movie or song as favorite or most influential. Most of the time, the answer is dictated by one’s mood when answering. Because there are so many things we like or that influence us, it’s hard to limit an answer to one definitive work.
February 23, 2020 at 7:48 am
Totally agree (and thank you). That’s why I answered like I did, because I couldn’t just pick ONE book.