My Favorite Books Growing Up

As a young child living somewhere between the Midwest and the eastern seaboard, I cut my teeth on a variety of reading. Some were beloved children’s classics while others were more traditional literature. As a scrappy elementary reader, my favorite things to read were the Little Golden Books series which had titles like The Little Pokey Puppy, Tootle, Scuffy the Tugboat, and The Little Red Hen. When I didn’t want to read, but listen to a book, I would put on a record on the record player. I had a small record player that would play 45 vinyl records, most of them classic Disney stories.

Skip forward a few years and things changed. While I still loved picking up The Pokey Little Puppy, my father had a different idea of ‘good’ literature. He was a man with a solid set of values and whose education was founded in classic books. So, he passed that torch onto my brother and me. Before I was able to pick up a book on my own, my parents often read to us.

My mother typically chose books from the Dick and Jane or Dr. Seuss variety. My father…not so much. While I loved that both my parents would read to me, story time was also education time. My father would pick classic books with a long history. Ever since I was around five or six he would read to us. When I got old enough to read on my own and up through high school, my reading material had a narrow focus. Classic literature.

I learned about horror from titles such as The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Fall of the House of Usher from Edgar Allan Poe. Agatha Christie would take me on a journey through stories like Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express. John Steinbeck taught me about the human condition through magnificent titles such as The Pearl and Of Mice and Men. I would get lost in the English country through the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Wilson Rawls, the author of Where the Red Fern Grows, took me inside the life of a boy with hunting dogs and showed me what love and sacrifice really meant. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, taught me about human nature.

It wasn’t until later in life that I saw what my father had done for me. He instilled a love for language and reading and learning from the best authors of the time. All throughout my childhood I was surrounded by some of the best minds in literature.

After growing up and leaving college I finally spread my wings and left the nest. I ventured into different types of literature that I found tantalizing. It was exciting because if was a shift from my classical upbringing and the next set of authors opened my eyes to a whole new world of writing. It was—and still is—and exciting time.

My love of horror and thrills changed only to the degree from whom I read. While I still love picking up Edgar Allan Poe, I’ve found a new master of horror, Stephen King. I have read over forty books from this talented author. Some of my favorite titles include the Bill Hodges Trilogy ( Mr. Mercedes), Duma Key, and The Dark Tower series. James Paterson continues to put me on the edge of my seat with books like Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls. One of my favorite series was Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton.

There are several series where I couldn’t just read them once. I had to read them two, four, and six times. These talented series include, the Harry Potter Series, by J.K. Rowling; the Iron Druid Chronicles, by Keven Hearne; and the Mither Mages Trilogy, by Orson Card Scott.

Other fantastic authors include: Lee Child who wrote the Jack Reacher series. These books are so gripping and filled with action that I read more than twenty-five books in the series. Other notable mentions are David Baldacci’s Memory Man, Dean Koontz’s Velocity, Harlan Coben’s Deal Breaker, George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series and Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

So, the question is how does all of this relate to my writing? These authors have shaped my view of literature. While all of the titles cover a wide range of genre and theme, there is a constant thread through most of them. They deal in some way through the human condition. They have a plot, sure, but they also tie you to a character(s) and make you care. They pull on your emotional strings so much that you can’t put the books down. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of these wonderfully creative authors is that if you create a compelling plot and weave in characters that the reader feels in their heart and gut, then you’ve hopefully created a book that the audience can’t put down.

Thank you for joining me as I explored my writing journey. Continue reviewing my blogs and don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter where I share writing topics, behind-the-scene details, and members-only content. Remember to go over to my media page to watch my podcasts and learn additional content or view them on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. Like and subscribe for more content.