The Books that Turned me into a Lifelong Reader
And their sparklingly wicked, prophetic, or remarkable quotes.
This is the order they popped into my head.
The Hobbit — J.R.R Tolkein.
For a kid, it is a brilliant adventure — like hunting for treasure in dark woods with your best friend.
“It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay…”
The Catcher in the Rye — J.D. Salinger.
As a teenager, it made me yearn to drink whisky and soda — and that tastes awful.
“I don’t exactly know what I mean by that, but I mean it.”
The Day of the Triffids — John Wyndham
As thrilling as getting chased by your mother with a slipper in her hand — and almost as much fun.
“It must be, I thought, one of the race’s most persistent and comforting hallucinations to trust that “it can’t happen here”
Catch-22 — Joseph Heller
As quirky as a quirky thing with a paradox thrown in.
“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22… Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.”
The Wasp Factory — Iain Banks
The Wasp Factory is mesmerizing, like a watch swinging on a chain.
“Looking at me, you’d never guess I’d killed three people…”
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy — Douglas Adams
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was the very first entry in my reading journal, it’s full of ideas as big as space.
“Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.”
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know — Ranulph Fiennes
How is he not dead?
“My name is Ranulph Twistleton-Wickham Fiennes.” and
“The answer was obvious. The useless finger ends must be cut off at once, so they could no longer get in the way and hit things. I tried tentatively to cut through the smallest finger with a new pair of secateurs…”
Trainspotting — Irvine Welsh
I finished reading this the day before the birth of my first son. I’m not sure which is more memorable.
“Choose a life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers… Choose DSY and wonder who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing junk food into your mouth. Choose to rot away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself, choose your future. Choose life… But why would I want to do a thing like that?”
To Kill a Mockingbird — Harper Lee
It is an enlightening book and it was made into a mesmerizing film.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time — Mark Haddon
It’s a murder mystery portrayed from an extraordinarily observed perspective.
“Everyone has learning difficulties because learning to speak French or understanding relativity is difficult.”
The Martian — Andy Weir
It is believable, as only an engineer could convey.
“No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
The Fight — Norman Mailer
How is it someone can write like this? I love Mailer’s style, his eloquence, his imagery. I drop my jaw in awe.
“There is always a shock in seeing him again. Standing before you, looking his best. Then the World’s Greatest Athlete is in danger of being our most beautiful man. Women draw an audible breath. Men look down. For he is the Prince of heaven — so says the silence around his body when he is luminous.”
The Road to Little Dribbling — Bill Bryson
Bryson gives us a wonderful romp through Britain with many useful tips, tricks, and styles for writers like me to bastardize.
“The rooms were small and airless and cramped. To make matters worse, somebody in our group was making the most dreadful silent farts. Fortunately, it was me, so I wasn’t nearly as bothered as the others.”
A Decent Wee Man — George Donald
I’ll warn you now you won’t like the editing, you won’t like the formatting, you won’t like the pages not being numbered. This is a self-published book is from a prolific author who just wants to write and not bother about such formalities. Get over that and you’ll read a great story.
“I cannot say with any certainty when I decided to do the things I did, but I know the first murder I committed was a split-second decision, not something that had been lingering in my head for a while. I mean, it’s not as if I go around planning to murder people, you know what I mean.”
How to Stop Time — Matt Haig
Matt Haig makes me think, and that’s never a bad thing. He has nailed the art of writing. He makes me late for bed.
“I Like The Way That when you Tilt Poems On their side They Look like Miniature Cities From A long way Away. Skyscrapers Made out Of Words.”
A Funny Way of Being Serious — James A. Simpson
They are funny, the anecdotes, but his thoughts reflect in the sentiments these snippets of humor contain.
“Being childlike is very different from being infantile or gullible. The childlike vision belongs to open minds, receptive ears, and bright eyes. A mother tells how her little boy used to wake up in the morning and say, “Wow”. Then she added, “What saddens me is that I suspect, like so many of us, he will eventually wake up one day only to say “ugh”. I wish I knew what I could do to prevent this ever happening.”
This is Going to Hurt — Adam Kay
The hype was right. This is painfully funny.
“Electrolytes are the salts in the blood — mostly sodium, potassium, chloride, and calcium. If levels become too high or too low, your body has a way of alerting you, by making your heart stop or putting you in a coma. It’s clever like that.”
The Girl who Saved the King of Sweden — Jonas Jonasson
I loved the innocence in his writing. Zombeko is a character you want to squeeze and squeeze. Just lovely.
“Life, here I come!’ he said. And was immediately and fatally run over by a bus.”
The Humans — Matt Haig (again).
A book I wish I could write. For two days it was an extension to my arm. I snorted my spaghetti through my nose, I pondered life as a stoic would, and I was smitten, as I would be with a new puppy. Thank you, Matt Haig.
“This was, I would later realize, a planet of things wrapped inside things. Food inside wrappers. Bodies inside clothes. Contempt inside smiles. Everything was hidden away.”
The Guardians — John Grisham
Pick any Grisham, but the message behind this one stuck in my mind.
“In the U.S. there are over two million people locked up, and it takes one million employees and $80 billion in tax dollars to take care of them.”
The Passengers — John Marrs
I love it when at the end of every chapter the writer forces you to find out what happens next. Forget falling asleep.
“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle”. That’s how I’ve lived my life.”