The Sword and Laser discussion

In the book it says pretty near to the beginning that the Fillory books were the books that Quentin never really got over and I wondered if that might be a common theme - maybe especially for fantasy readers.

I'm not sure if I have a particular book that I never got over, but the general idea about a secret world that you can discover via a strange hidden entrance sounds pretty appealing to me and at times I'm still annoyed there isn't something as magical schools and stuff or - even worse - that I wasn't invited.

I wonder, can anyone relate? Have a book that they never really got over or something similar? Or maybe it's just me and everyone else is grown-up and rational and *knows* that magical worlds do not exist.

(On the other hand, just look at owls. Everytime I see an owl I am fairly certain that there must be some magic around. Owls are just really really strange.)

Sure I can relate to this. There are probably at least five or six books I've never fully gotten over for whatever reason. I think part of it stems from the desire of discovering a secret passage, secret map, something previously hidden that no longer is... Of course the interesting thing is that they aren't all works of literary greatness but they are all books that got caught in my imagination like a fishhook in the meaty mind of me.

House of Stairs is a book I never got completely out of my head. I think there is just something about the image or concept of being surrounded by countless open stairways that go on endlessly that haunts me a bit. It's a bizarre duality of sorts as I can not determine if I am drawn to this or repulsed.

Over Sea, Under Stone is another book that for whatever reason, still lingers in my mind as an adult. I didn't care much for the series but I loved this first volume for a number of reasons.

I'm a big owl person. Right now there are a couple of barn owl chicks in the barns here. They are pretty funny in the morning when I chore as they are half squawking and screeching away.

Parallel Dimensions are likely to exist if you follow string theory (my understanding of it is very basic) I don't know about magical worlds but I absolutely believe in parallel dimensions as gravity is such a weak force comparatively. Reality is ultimately perception.

I've always found owls to slightly mystic in nature, like a sentient entity that just allows others things to exist. Perhaps they are attracted to strange magnetic anomalies where things such as a "worm hole" might manifest given the proper situation or even perhaps perception of an entrance to a new world. Just because its being interpreted inside your brain doesn't make it less "real"

Illusions and what followed from Richard Bach all the way up to Running from Safety when he basically disavows his new age master status with a mea culpa.

Zach wrote: "Reality is ultimately perception."


I don't know, I think there's more to reality than perception. An example might be phenomenology. If we place such strict limitations upon defining reality as being bound to subjectively perceiving reality, then we will never be able to prove we aren't brains in a vat being experimented on by some evil demon. (Descartes) And I must admit I don't like the idea that I'm stuck in a vat.

Casey wrote: "Zach wrote: "Reality is ultimately perception."


I don't know, I think there's more to reality than perception. An example might be phenomenology. If we place such strict limitations upon defin..."

I'm not saying ONLY perception is reality but ultimately it is as your only connection to reality is your 5 senses interpreted by your brain. String theory is very real and not a perception. It is supported by math. Math beyond my comprehension. but the fundememtals I understand. wormholes could bring us to other dimension's or worlds, That are not just perceived but are real.

Zach wrote: "I'm not saying ONLY perception is reality..."

Well here's the thing. I know enough about string theory to say I don't know enough about it to talk about it too much :)

I tend to believe that the nature of reality is more an issue of philosophy than it is of science. But hey, just an opinion.

Thats more or less what I was trying to say. Perhaps I worded it oddly.

To me science is just another philosophy, albeit a much more fleshed out one than most and far less cryptic. Perspective, perception, interpretation. Whatever.

To quote Legion from Mass Effect 2
"Some believe 1 is less than 2,
others believe 2 is less than 3"

I could definitely relate. My relationship to books is very emotional. I've been reading since I was four, and most of the happiest moments of my life revolve round books. Thus there are plenty of books I've never gotten over. I am a big fan of the Narnia books. Although the satire was biting at times, and the jokes off-color, I took this book as a dark humor homage to the Narnia books, and I took from it that Grossman does think well of the books.

my book that i never got over as a child is the mysteries of harris burdick by chris van allsburg. i think it's one of the primary reasons i became a writer.

as a teen and young adult, i don't think i ever got over the harry potter books. i feel like popular authors are afraid to admit they like them but i thought they were wonderful stories. i loved that world/those characters almost more than any i ever visited!

Great question.

One book is House of Leaves- mainly because I made the mistake of reading it while buying a house, and my nightmares included details from the book and my actual life to form an unforgettable narrative.

The Secret Language had a huge impact on my childhood, and I happened to live in the forest, which easily became our enchanted forest, our Terabthia, and my best friend and I had our own secret language using some of the words in this book, then adding many more if our own.

The Swing in the Summerhouse is the book that I actually didn't know the name of until today, nor did I know it was part of a series (I googled "magical gazebo"), but it captured my imagination as a child more than any other book I've read. I had checked it out of the library and never found it again. I'm on the hunt now.

My uncle gave me The Phantom Tollbooth when I was as a young lad, and I can say without a doubt it was what opened my eyes to the world of reading. That whimsical, emotional tale made me thirst for a good story. I hope that I can make an impact on a kids life like my uncle did.

Jenny wrote: "Great question.

One book is House of Leaves- mainly because I made the mistake of reading it while buying a house, and my nightmares included details from the book and my actual life ..."

house of leaves. ditto.

Its Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for me.

Brad T. wrote: "Its Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for me."

OOMPA LOOMPAS!

it was the scratch and sniff wallpaper. I use the word snozzberry in a sentence at least once a month.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a big one for me too, as well as The Hobbit, and Lost in the Barrens.

But the world of Harry Potter is one that I definitely got hooked on. I think I started reading them when I was around the age of nineteen or twenty – not too sure what that says about my maturity level – but in all that time I've never really gotten over them. Maybe it's not so much the books but the world itself that I haven't gotten over. But there are owls in my area and whenever I hear them I wonder to myself if there's a wizard in the area as well.

This is a good topic, it's made me realize that a big reason I liked The Magicians is that it parodies magical worlds that we know to be fake and flips it so they are in-fact real. But I guess because it's a parody makes it fake as well. So is Lev Grossman telling people who read this book that have similar fantasy world obsessions to grow up? And am I stuck in some kind of a literary paradox right now?

Anyway this makes me wonder if a bit of the hate towards this book has to do with Quentin's obsession with the Fillory novels being little too close to home for some people.

I can totally see where you're coming from. I listen to audiobooks at work and often find myself staring out the window while listening to SF/F books and daydreaming about magic and other cool stuff. I think for those of us who read books like this, we never give up the sense of wonder that attracted us to fantasy to start with, and that's not a bad thing. We have to live in this world, but it's fun to think about what it might be like to live in another. Wow. This makes me sound crazy.

I'm convinced I learnt to read proper books because of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and I've loved the story ever since though I think I like The Magician's Nephew even more.
In a complete constast two other books that grabbed me as a pre-teen and never let me go are 1984 and The Chocolate War.

There are a lot of books I remember fondly. But the book that seemed to strike the most powerful cord with me wasn't a genre book it was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. It's the only book I almost couldn't finish because I had a hard time seeing the pages through the tears.

There are a lot of books I remember fondly. But the book that seemed to strike the most powerful cord with me wasn't a genre book it was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. It's the only book I almost couldn't finish because I had a hard time seeing the pages through the tears.

Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susannah Clark.

I reread it every Christmas.

For me its Ender's Game because I feel so connected with the book. Ender just speaks for me on a emotional level.

Ah the sweet sorrow!!

For me it was the Harry Potter series. I started reading the books back in High School, I was a young lad in search of a good read and my friend kept bashing my head with them (their was only three books out at the time) so I gave them a chance and boy! am I glad I did it. I just miss the characters, I wish there would be more adventures.

The other one for me is a series of french books divided in three trilogy called The Quest of Ewilan, The World of Ewilan and the Marchombre Pact (these titles are loose translation), the books unfortunatly we're never translated and sadly the author died a little while back, he was a tremendous writer of young adults litterature.

Of course theres a few more books, but those two series are my favorite from my teenage years that I'll always carry in my memory with fondness.

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Duggard.

Hit me hard.

To this day I could physically punish the couple that kidnapped her. Just point them out to me, dial 911 and stand back.

Kevin wrote: "For me its Ender's Game because I feel so connected with the book. Ender just speaks for me on a emotional level."

One of my favourite Sci-Fi series. Have you read the other dozen or so books in the series?

I love Orson Scott Card, great author and just a nice guy in general.

Alex wrote: "Casey wrote: " If we place such strict limitations upon defining reality as being bound to subjectively perceiving reality, then we will never be able to prove we aren't brains in a vat being exper..."

I'm a bit older than you, but as far as childhood books it was cheap dimestore Doctor Who novelizations all the way. And Lord Of The Rings. :)

The Horse and His Boy and The Hobbit... although Good Omens was really tough to get over as well, if only because I was laughing too hard.

I'd have to second The Phantom Tollbooth. I got it in like 5th grade when the school library stamped it obsolete and gave it away. I read it countless times from then until high school, still flip through and read segments of that same copy to this day.

My picks for this category are 2, one sword and 1 laser, so to say. The sword is The Lord of the Rings trilogy, read before the movies came out. It's just something about Tolkien's universe in conjunction with the three movies and their awesome soundtracks.
The laser is The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov. After reading that book when I was little I frantically looked for the other books in the trilogy, but had no success (the publishing house that translated the book into my language decided to discontinue the series, so the other 2 books were never published).

Alex wrote: Harry Potter for me. It defined my childhood and will always stay with me.

Agreed

I remember reading A Wrinkle in Time when I was in school (perhaps 4th grade, or thereabouts?) and adored it. I then went on to devour anything by L'Engle, but that was always, and still is, my favorite.

I've been thinking about this topic for a few days, since it was originally written. I've had quite a number of books that have impacted me in some way and plenty I've thought about long after reading them. I even have some that I consider "warm blanket" books, ones I go to if I need to relax, ones that just take me away and help me to calm down (the audio versions of the Harry Potter books do this in particular, and Stephen Fry's reading of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).

I think, though, that the 3 books that have had an impact on my life, the way the Fillory books seem to have for Q, are The Alchemist, The Little Prince, and Desert Solitaire. Those are the books that I think about when I'm getting introspective, the ones that I re-read when I feel like I need to re-ground myself and remember what's important.

I'm gonna join the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone squad on this one. It started when I was 12 and, let's face it, I still read those books with great pleasure. They're an integral part of my childhood and since I'm not sure that ever really ended, they continue to be part of my life. :)

As for more recent books (meaning less than 15 years ago... ahem) there have been a few that pop up in my mind randomly and just won't go away. 1984 is one of them - especially as things in that book are very much happening right now. Scary business. Very much makes me wish more people (in high places) would READ more.

terpkristin wrote: "I think, though, that the 3 books that have had an impact on my life, the way the Fillory books seem to have for Q, are The Alchemist, The Little Prince, and Desert Solitaire. Those are the books that I think about when I'm getting introspective, the ones that I re-read when I feel like I need to re-ground myself and remember what's important. "

Desert Solitaire is $2.99 in Kindle right now, FYI. I bought it in preparation for my Around the USA reading challenge for 2013.

American Gods Neil Gaiman

I want to go on a road to one place after another although I have been to many of the places independently as I was going from one place to another...oh the joys of living in the Midwest.

BookGuys wrote: "Kevin wrote: "For me its Ender's Game because I feel so connected with the book. Ender just speaks for me on a emotional level."

One of my favourite Sci-Fi series. Have you read the other dozen o..."

Not according to most!

I have actually read most of his books, but all the ones that has came out after Shadow of the Giants, other than Pathfinder, and the Ender related books, which to me all were terrible. He has gotten away from his writing I think and things to write more mainstream, which fails big time for me.

Jenny wrote: "Desert Solitaire is $2.99 in Kindle right now, FYI. I bought it in preparation for my Around the USA reading challenge for 2013."

Yeah I'm debating buying it as I do have a very "loved" paperback copy already...

I have a a few books/stories that I have in the back of my head at all times. Some names, words, or things makes them rise. The other day I was late and I said to my friends: "A wizard is never late. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to." Darn that felt good! Most times I keep this things to my self.


I can totally relate with Anne! When I was younger I was waiting for a fantasy world to appear in front of me, but with the years I learned that it wouldn't happen.... now I'm waiting for an alien invasion! Or the possibility of colonizing a new world! Or Haruhi Suzumiya....

Napoez3 wrote: "I can totally relate with Anne! When I was younger I was waiting for a fantasy world to appear in front of me, but with the years I learned that it wouldn't happen.... now I'm waiting for an alien invasion! Or the possibility of colonizing a new world! Or Haruhi Suzumiya.... "

I spent a summer looking for the secret elevator button in my closet, and the secret passageways that would connect my bedroom with the other kids in the neighborhood (in the woods, so "neighbors" were 1/2 mile away nearest). Thanks, Bobbsey Twins.

Sky wrote: "The Horse and His Boy and The Hobbit... although Good Omens was really tough to get over as well, if only because I was laughing too hard."

I'm glad you like "The Horse and His Boy." I always feel bad for liking it so much because for most people I know it is their least favorite in the series.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory One of my WoW character was actually named Snozzberry. Really any Roald Dahl book was my obsession for a chunk of my childhood.

Also The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which I was completely obsessed with as a child. My dad gave me his families beautiful old copies of the book and I spent hours living in the world of Oz.

Adam wrote: "Sky wrote: "The Horse and His Boy and The Hobbit... although Good Omens was really tough to get over as well, if only because I was laughing too hard."

I'm glad you like "The Horse and His Boy." ..."
I'll also stand up for being a fan of The Horse and His Boy

I've been thinking about this for a few days and surprisingly the ones that really lodged in my brain from childhood are both futuristic, dystopian sci-fi - Robot Revolt and Z For Zachariah. I'm surprised because I'd always thought of myself as much more of a fantasy reader. That said I have a real soft spot for Edding's Sparhawk series - I read them as a teen and then every April-May after that as escapism from exams, right up to Masters level!

There are so many good books that even if years have passed since I read them last - I can just close my eyes and see passages pouring off the pages.



The books came out in and before my childhood and every time you began to like a character - they redeemed themselves - Alexander destroyed them in some fashion or another. [But, you read on anyway]



I adore this book for enforcing in children the idea that questioning adults and what they say or do is not always wrong and often necessary. I adore the book so much that for World Book Night - I am giving away this book.



Anything of the Middle Earth universe by Tolkien - his prose may be a bit thick for some, but his imagery is so lush you can see and hear, and sometimes are certain you can smell everything - from second breakfast to an Orc stampede

Melanie wrote: "I remember reading A Wrinkle in Time when I was in school (perhaps 4th grade, or thereabouts?) and adored it. I then went on to devour anything by L'Engle, but that was always, and still is, my fav..."

Yes! Second Wrinkle in Time. It was one of my favorite books for a long time and definitely the first fantasy book I'd ever read.

Yay for The Horse and His Boy - also my favourite of the Narnia books despite having pretty much nothing to do with the rest of the series.

I can definitely see that Harry Potter would be a nmassive influence and a gateway into fantasy for todays generation, the sense of wonder is similar to Narnia/Tolkein - if I'd been growing up with HP it probably would have been a huge influence

The Lord of the Rings is still the one book that sticks with me above any other - you feel that this is a deep history that really happened somewhere

I don't have any stories from my childhood where the world really stuck with me. My favorite was Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost StoryI remember when I reread it in HS I was still into it, but I wonder if I risk ruining my pristine memory of it. Jennifer Love Hewitt was making it into a movie at some point, but I'm not sure if that's still on.

I think the prose of Tolkien is one of the things that makes his work so good. A lot of contemporary author just don't have one and it's a sad thing. Also, Tolkien comes from a period where prose was one of the most important piece of a writer's style.

Kendrick wrote: "My uncle gave me The Phantom Tollbooth when I was as a young lad, and I can say without a doubt it was what opened my eyes to the world of reading. That whimsical, emotional tale made me thirst for..."

My fifth grade teacher read this book to our class. Then he showed us the movie. I became obsessed with The Phantom Tollbooth, even though for years I could not find a copy of it.

Yesterday I ordered it to give to a friend for her baby shower. She requested books, and this immediately popped into my mind. I hope it has the same unforgettable effect on her as it did on me.