Reading Profile
I have a lifelong love of reading. I was the kid in the
classroom with a library book hidden behind my text book during study time. I
got caught, but it was totally worth it! As an elementary student I enjoyed
reading The Adventures of Tom Swift, The Mad Scientist Club, The Hardy Boys, Nancy
Drew, American historical biographies, and nonfiction historical works. My
parents purchased the Time Life WWII series and I read all 39 of them multiple
times. I was a strange child, perfectly content to read the Encyclopedia
Britannica from cover to cover. At this stage of my life I loved action,
mystery, gadgets, and science. I think my attraction to history has always been
that I wanted to know “why”, and to know why the way things are you need to
understand history.
In high school I
enjoyed reading fiction authors such as Joseph Heller, Orson Scott Card, Tolkien,
Vonnegut, and Stephen King while reading nonfiction works focusing on the Civil
War and World War II. As a teen I began to develop that Gen-X cynicism my
generation is famous for, Vonnegut and Heller both wrote cynical satirical works
that helped feed this. I think with Stephen King I like the way he paced his
writing, the tension, and the world /characters he created as much as any scary
element. Tolkien to me has always been pure magic. I love everything about his
books. The world, characters, and story line were almost a religious experience
for me, pure fantasy bliss.
After high school I attended and graduated from IPFW. I
began my university career as a History student and graduated with a B.S.
majoring in Biology. I know, go figure! So I started out reading titles such as
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and Voltaire’s Candide and ended with Farber’s
Temptation of Evolutionary Ethics and (sigh) journal articles.
After graduating college, I rarely had time to read for
pleasure but when I did, I read mostly historical nonfiction. Today, when I
have time to read for pleasure, I read mostly Sci-fi such as Rick Yancey, Peter
F. Hamilton, and Neal Asher. Like when I was a child, I’m attracted to the
gadgets and science as well as the plot. It’s mostly escapism. Neal Asher’s
worlds are dark and cynical which at times reflects my own current world view,
unfortunately. I’m all about trying new things so I hope with this class I’ll
have a fun excuse to get out of my comfort zone.
All Time Favorites:
- 1. Tolkein – The Hobbit
- 2. King – IT
- 3. King – Tommyknockers
- 4. Vonnegut – Slaughterhouse Five
- 5. Joseph Heller – Catch 22
We had a similar love of reading as children. I also had books behind my textbooks (and read under my covers with a flashlight) and got caught! Our tastes are vastly different, but I think that will be part of what makes this class so much fun! I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone's take on different genres and authors hopefully havingy horizons expanded. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Brandy! Good luck this semester!
DeleteWell, Jason, we probably won't be sharing home libraries any time soon, but I love how you've described Stephen King. I read Carrie and that was enough (although I did later read Different Season and loved it- of course it is also contains 2 of my all time favorite movies, so that makes sense!). Horror is not my genre of choice and I'm going back and forth as to whether I should pick it for one of my genres so I can at least seem competent in it!! King also used to write for Entertainment Weekly and I loved his essays, so I think it's probably the horror part and not the writing part for me! Have a great semester!
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ReplyDeleteHey Jason! Sorry about the deleted comment above, somehow I was logged-in from some old account I think I used for a Linux forum. I Like your reading profile, like you, I always enjoyed Tolkien, I don't know why I didn't mention him. I remember being left in the classroom one time in elementary because I was lost in a book. It was fantasy, which was my favorite escape as well. When I finished the story and looked-up, the room was dark and everyone was gone. They were all down the hall watching a movie and I was left there. I always wondered if they actually forgot me or just left me to read. I will have to try out some Neal Asher. Enjoy the semester!
ReplyDeleteExcellent reading profile, full points! I too am an AVID Vonnegut fan, I've read all but three of his books, I'm saving them because I know there won't be anymore!
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