I am so pleased to be participating in this giveaway hop. I am indebted to great authors, and books have been a major influence on my life. When I was growing up, it was Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables book series that influenced my immeasurably. Once I read the Little House books, I never could enjoy the television series as much since I knew what really happened. And I actually wrote a 300-some page book as a teenager that was inspired by Anne Shirley. (No, I never published the book, and I probably never will, but it is still very special to me.)
I can remember the first book I read that actually caused me to cry: A Tale of Two Cities. In fact, I cannot watch the movie without crying for the last five minutes of the movie. It is still my favorite Charles Dickens book, and I have read it at least twice.
I can remember being forced to read books in high school, and those books don’t hold a special place in my heart. I can even recall how I lost touch with books as a young married woman. And then I had a daughter. It was not until I became single again that I decided to return to my great love of reading. And the books I have read in the past few years have influenced me in so many ways.
Sierra by Taylor Dean still stands as one of the most romantic books I have ever read, but I will admit that One by Kiera Cass runs it a close second. The Hunger Games series was a series that I fought against reading because I figured I wouldn’t enjoy it. Then I read it, and because of my love for the series, my mom finished it before I did! Last night, I finished The Fault in Our Stars, and I can’t remember the last time I cried so hard over a book! I spent three nights crying once I realized what the ending was going to be. (Don’t worry, I won’t tell you.)
With so many wonderful authors both living and dead, it would take ages to read the fantastic stories found within. I believe that authors are often overlooked as the great artists they are, and I am even planning to try my hand at being an author again very soon.
So in honor of this wonderful giveaway hop, I would like to give one international reader their book of choice. This will be a very simple giveaway, and it is open through July 20 at 9 P.M. Pacific time. Just enter the rafflecopter, and then hop on to enter all the giveaways in the linky!
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42 Comments
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I have pleasant memories about The Great Gatsby even if it was a required reading.
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Stephen King was a big turning point for me. Once I started reading his books I couldn’t stop!
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I love Dave Bidini’s TROPIC OF HOCKEY…it’s a wonderful travelogue, and it makes you think about the unexpected connections in life!
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Two books that really affected me were A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Even though I read these classics years ago, I still fondly remember the stories.
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Dean Koontz holds the lead for having the most impact in my reading and interests but there are many others. See the post link for more!
Jamie recently posted…International Author’s Day -Extravaganza of SIX giveaways!
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The Color Purple really opened up the world of books to me. I was in Elementary school when I read it. I admit that I didn’t understand everything that was going on and had to ask some questions. BUT, the story made me realize that I could tackle advanced books and enjoy them.
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JoJo Moyes Me Before You was really wonderful. I suggest a box of tissues to be nearby.
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i’m a fan of stephen king since i was a kid. i liked reading scary stuffs
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There have been many authors who amaze me and inspire me. Mainly, they inspire me to write my own stories. I love reading, have always loved it, and without authors it wouldnt be possible.
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Hm, now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve read a book that emotionally affected me THAT much. I mean, all the books I’ve read have affected me, but not in a very large amount. Don’t get me wrong though, I love all of my books very much, and the authors too.
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I think The Flowering Series by Sarah Daltry has stayed with me since the moment I picked up the first book. I fell in love with the characters, the story and the writing. I laughed and cried with them. I was said when the series came to an end. I have read other writings by this author and she is wonderful. I have read other books that have stayed with me, that I have laughed and cried with, fell in love with but this one stuck out the most.
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Murder by Mushroom by Virginia Smith makes me think of mushrooms differently. I caould name several.
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Two of my favorite reads are “The Shack” and “The Passion of Mary Margaret.” Both made me cry and think, a great combination in books!
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In the last year, I discovered author Sarah Daltry. Her Flowering series was so well written and such an intense read. I fell in love with her work instantly. I got to know her, and I have read some more of her books. I am so happy to have discovered her books.
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An author that truly affected me is Meg Cabot. She is the author that got me started in reading books. I never read books before that. I didn’t understand why a book with no pictures could be so interesting…
I think I was 9 or 10 when it happened. I was visiting the library with my mother and she wanted some time to look through the shelves so she sent me on my way to explore. Previously my library card had been used for dads and some children’s books. But there was nothing new there so I went over to the teen section. I just started looking through some books but I refused to try to read a book with no pictures. I left with nothing. A few days later, we returned to the library so my mom could return the books she was one with. This time we also stopped in our library book store. Its a little place when used library books and donations go, and sales support the library. The books there a at amazing prices, true steals. With my new discovery of the teen section, I decided to explore the bookstores section.
I started looking, and something caught my eye. Megan Meade’s Guide to the McGowan Boys by Meg Cabot. Now I’m going to tell you why this was so amazing. My name is Meghan. Yes that is spelled right. Mine carries an H, and even though this book’s featured name didn’t have an H, this was the first time I had EVER seen MY NAME as the main characters name. That was the sole reason I wanted to buy this book. With the main characters name as Megan, the authors name Meg, and it was only 25 cents so I told my self that this was worth a try. So I took it to my mom and begged her to get it. Thrilled at my sudden interest in a book, of course my mom agreed.
I took it home and sat down with a heavy heart, preparing to drag my self through at least some of this book, just I had done with all my previous tries at “real” books. I started reading. Next thing I knew, I was done with the first chapter, then the second, third and so on. Then I was done. I finished my first reading book by the end of the day. I didn’t even realize I had sat on the couch and read the entire book for hours on end, as the sun faded outside. I was too engrossed in my book to realize when natural light switched to artificial. I was amazed with myself. Reading that book had been the single most enjoyable thing I had done yet that summer. I now knew why books without pictures were so interesting. The pictures weren’t on the pages, they were in your mind, and because you were creating them, they were that much more real.
I revisited the teen section in my library. Took out two more Meg Cabot books. I was sure that I didn’t like the books, I liked her, so I would read her. I took out the duology, All American Girl and Ready or not, because I figured I had done one so fast, I could manage two. Two days later, they were finished, and the books were promptly returned, only to take out the max of five books. More Meg Cabot. I continued this way until all available Meg Cabot books had been read. Then I took the biggest step, that I agonized about for days, but I couldn’t handle it anymore. I had to read more books. So, the next day, I went to the library, and checked out another book. The author was not Meg Cabot. I don’t remember now what that book was or the author but I’m pretty sure I loved it. There are very few books I have read that I don’t like, because I’m so picky about my summaries.
So a new book lover was created, and the rest of the summer was spent reading every book the teen section of my library had to offer that I wanted to read. I cleared out that library, reading a book a day, sometimes two. I was very blessed, I discovered, that I could read a book very fast and still recall everything that had happened. When I finished with my library, I begged my mother to take me to the next closest library so I could look through their selection. She did, and well, the rest is history.I hope I didn’t go too overboard with all that I wrote, but I just remembered all my feelings from that time, and I had to go all out.
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I appreciate your sharing so much with us!
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I’ve loved books since I was very young. As a kid, I loved books by E.B. White (Stuart Little, especially), Ramona the Pest books, Nancy Drew, Judy Blume, etc. One of my favorite authors now is Terry Pratchett (he writes the hilarious Disc World Series). It just kills me that he has early onset Alzheimers Disease, because there must be so much more in him waiting to be transferred onto paper!
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One author I love is Lavyrle Spencer … his novels are wonderful and make you dream .. and sigh. I always recommend … is a master at love stories 🙂
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I have read so many wonderful books through the years, I can’t even imagine a life without books. Recently I read Then and Always by Dani Atkins. It was the kind of book that stayed in your mind days after finishing it.
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The Chronicles of Narnia series has been very important to me. Most of how I feel cannot be explained in words, really. They have meant much more to me as an adult than they ever did as a child with the first and last books being my favorites.
Jayne T. recently posted…Summer Movie Spectacular Giveaway 7/22 -
I feel like the book that had affect on me lately was The Fault In Our Stars. Not only was this book a genre that I don’t usually read, I have never cried so hard over a book. It’s the book that brought back this excitement for reading that I haven’t felt in years. Normally if an ending had already been spoiled for me, my interest in the story would decrease immensly. However in this case it made no difference.
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I love alot of authors. Certain ones can really make you feel like you are in the story as a spectator wathing the whole story play out. I love it in a book when an author makes you feel every emotions. Those are the kidn of authors I love.
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There have been many books that have really affected me, engendering such strong emotions! But to recall one specific book and/or author is extremely difficult. I believe most books, written well, will can affect someone in different ways.
I experienced a stroke at a very young age and afterward, I had much difficulty in focusing and concentrating enough to read. This saddened me greatly as I was always an avid reader. I was afraid I might have this difficulty the rest of my life, permanently damaged from the stroke. I became determined and forced myself to read, starting with small sessions and had to remind myself not to be discouraged. Today, I am back to reading, not at the level I was prior to the stroke, but now I can enjoy a book. I am so very grateful to have most of concentration back. There but for the grace of God, go I. -
at a difficult time of my life i had stopped reading ( no time, no mood for it everything seemed just so dark in my life that i didn’t think i could find or deserved evasion thanks to books like i did in teh past)
then i came across ” Moon called” by patricia briggs and it helped more that i can explain suddenly i discovered that you can be strong and compasionate, that being kind didn’t mean you had to be taken advantage off. hat book gave me hope again and i went to get all books by patricia briggs i could find which lead me to reread in english as well since i coulnd’t wait for the translation. Meeting her was also a really important moment in my life
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I think that the first book that really made me cry was this book called ‘Before I Die’ by Jenny Downham I think. I read it a while ago, and I rememeber that I was really emotional thinking about the characters, and the main one was a girl with cancer and I was sad about how she would never get to experience so many things in life! That and the fault in our stars are up there in my top two sob worthy books!
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Thank You Ruth for joining in the celebrations for IAD!
Count of Monte Cristo is one of my all time favourite classics. It has all the aspects of a fiction in it – Romance, Drama, adventure… But my all time favourite author is Satyajit Ray.
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