What 5 books/authors define your literary tastes?

[King Billi]

A question for all the readers here which I'm assuming is quite a few of you...

What five books/series/authors would you say have influenced your interest in reading and defined your current literary tastes the most? Be it the book that first sparked your passion for reading, a story which happened to touch you specifically at a significant phase in your life or the author whose work introduced you to your favourite genre.

Here are my five, chronologically:

1 - The 'Goosebumps' series by RL Stine
The earliest books I remember reading regularly once I'd grown out of picture books and the first books I ever sought out by myself and read independently without encouragment. My favourite story was "The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight".
2 - 'The Lord of the Rings' by JRR Tolkien
I was around 10 years old when I was given this hardcover edition of the Lord of the Rings, it was bigger than anything I'd ever read before and much more dense, It took me a few tries before I was able to read it through fully. It was my first introduction to books outside of strict children's literature.
3 - The books of Matthew Reilly
I began reading the work of Matthew Reilly early in highschool when he was very popular among my friends, for those that don't know the name he is a popular fiction writer of action adventure novels, his work actually isn't anything special but at the time I was reading him he came to my school to give a talking about his writing, and his enthusiasm for his work and the way he talked about it made me interested in writing as a hobby and in the different styles and work of various authors.
4 - The works of Edgar Allen Poe
Another author I read alot in highschool among various other random literary "classics", this one stuck with me though and has lead to my interest in stories of this kind, leading me to HP Lovecraft that particular style of sci fi/horror my interest has even into other mediums such as film and comics.
5 - 'The Sandman' by Neil Gaiman
First read a couple of years out of highschool this is the series that first introduced me to reading comics/graphic novels regularly, containing influences from so many genres and styles of writing I enjoy, this series feels to me like a collection of everything I've come to love from reading and storytelling.

Those are my five, I'm interested to hear everyone else's.

 

[King Billi]

Sorry, this is the wrong topic.

 

[Hawki]

This is a big question that I'm probably not going to spend as much time on as others, but if I'm choosing a top five in order of chronology, I guess I could go:

Era 1: Emily Rodda (Deltora Quest, Rowan of Rin, etc.). Children's books that deliver strong, uplifting messages. Also probably helped that these were fantasy books. Talking about early 90s roughly. In this era, I'll give honourable mention to The Wizard of Oz, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Greek Myths (I still have my "big book of Greek Myths" along with the Iliad, Odyssey, and King Arthur - honestly, these works could be an entry of their own).

Era 2: Harry Potter (mid to late 90s, making their way into the 2000s). I remember when I sneered off HP, then started reading it, round about the time that got huge. I'll give honourable mention to Artemis Fowl, Alex Rider, and A Series of Unfortunate Events in this time period. That said, Harry Potter gets the gold star here. It helps that it's amazingly well written on its own, and matures as the series goes on - I, like many others, grew up with the series, and the series grew up with us.

Era 3: The secondary school/high school period, where I start reading works and apply literary critique to them. This era introduced me to what is still my favorite novel of all time (Brave New World), but also works such as Farenheit 451, 1984, Animal Farm, Maestro, Heart of Darkness (bleh), and Shakespeare, among others. So I guess if I had to nominate a book, it would be BNW, but the others get mentioned for a reason.

Era 4: The 'nerd era.' This is where I focused a lot on tie-in media, when I enter the period of late teens/early twenties. I guess if I had to nominate a single book, it would be Halo: The Fall of Reach, in as much that it manages to be well written on its own, but also the start of me editing wikis prolifically. This is the era where I read books for the sake of worldbuilding/additions more than anything else. This would cover mid to late 2000s. Main settings were StarCraft, Warcraft, Halo, and Warhammer back then, but plenty of others as well.

Era 5: A Song of Ice and Fire. This probably encapsulates my current approach, in that I still favor sci-fi and fantasy, but I don't consume as much tie-in media right now, and am more focused on books where they're the primary medium. Read the first book in 2009. Other books have since followed. These days, I've read a lot of Orson Scott Card and Isaac Clarke, to name a few. But GoT probably gets the nomination here.

So, going by these, I guess my tastes are:

-Sci-fi/fantasy based.

-Great interest in thematic underpinnings/sub-text (often I have to admit I'm probably over-analyzing something)

-Generally prefer 'wholesome' material, but not the extent of being a prude (e.g. GoT is a horrible world, but it's made more effective by conveying the costs of that terribleness, and not relishing in its own darkness).

And to touch on the OP's nominations:

-Goosebumps: This belongs in era 1. Goosebumps was big. Not quite Harry Potter big, but big enough that I remember it being a 'thing' in school, alongside the tazo craze and the console wars of Sega and Nintendo. I can't say that Goosebumps really defined anything for me - I enjoyed them, but that's about it. Also can't nominate a favorite story, but Scarecrow certainly was a strong entry.

-Lord of the Rings: This is a weird one. They broadly fall into 'era 3,' but only in terms of timeframe. I like the books far more as a worldbuilding exercise, but as writing? Eh, not so much. It does help that The Hobbit roughly falls into Era 2.

-Matthew Riley: Yeah, never got into him. I have a general aversion to the thriller genre, and as someone who works in a library (living the dream FTW!) I see plenty of them. Rest assured that Russians are the bad guys. Or in Riley's case, the French. Only novel I read of his to completion was Hell Island, where genetically modified apes are used in combat against special ops groups in a combat testing exercise. Because that's how DARPA rolls. 0_0

 

[RedDeadFred]

Hmm.... kinda tough.

1. The Junie B Jones books are what got me hooked on reading in the first place at young age. I don't really remember them very well besides the fact that I remember finding them funny. I don't think they really impacted what my literary taste is today, but they certainly started it.

2. Goosebumps definitely was my primary source of reading during later elementary school and I think it's safe to say that they were my first foray into the more fantastical areas of fiction.

3. Lord of the Rings. Looking back, I'm kind of shocked I was able to get through and enjoy such a slow series at such a young age. I think this might have had the greatest impact on me as I still enjoy slower series today which take a long time to show their hand. And of course, this is what got me fully hooked on fantasy.

4. Dean Koontz/Stephen King. I read a lot of their books throughout high school and while I don't look back all that fondly on many of their works, I'd say that they significantly impacted my love of a series that has a good amount of suspense and mystery.

5. A Song of Ice and fire. This firmly established Epic Fantasy and my favourite part of the genre. Lots of characters sprawling across a huge area is the staple of this kind of series and it opened the door for me to get into (and finish) my favourite series ever, the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

 

[Glongpre]

Hmmmm.

Well right now it is mostly fantasy.

GRR Martin (ASOIAF)
Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicles) (I highly recommend this series!)
Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, Stormlight Archives)

So yeah, I would say my taste is firmly planted in fantasy.

Era 1: Emily Rodda (Deltora Quest,

Oh man, I still have the two big Deltora Quest tomes (books 1-8) on my book shelf. I barely remember them now, but I read them really fast when I was in Elementary. Pretty good books for a kid.
I had a hard time figuring out how to pronounce Lief though. Just went with leaf. It was all about Barda though, I recall him being the badass fighter.
It ended kinda on a non-ending though. Like hey we got the belt, and now the shadowdude is gone...or is he? Come back for the next books!

 

[happyninja42]

Jim Butcher

Terry Pratchett

Douglas Adams

Frank Herbert

Those are the only ones I can think of that "define" my literary tastes. Dozens of other authors help to color it, but those are the core ones I would say. I'm sure there are some others I'm forgetting, but that's what I can get off the top of my head.

 

[Hawki]

I see a lot of Pratchett being mentioned. Truth be told, I haven't read that many of his books, despite quite liking his writing style (except I really dislike 'The Colour of Magic'). To be honest, I think my 'personal Pratchett' would be Jasper Fforde, in regards to the Thursday Next series. They're quite similar in that they subvert various tropes, and have a very tongue in cheek writing style.

5. A Song of Ice and fire. This firmly established Epic Fantasy and my favourite part of the genre. Lots of characters sprawling across a huge area is the staple of this kind of series and it opened the door for me to get into (and finish) my favourite series ever, the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Given how much I love A Song of Ice and Fire, I'll be able to forgive the mention of Malazan on this this thread. ^_^

GRR Martin (ASOIAF)
Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicles) (I highly recommend this series!)
Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, Stormlight Archives)

Only read the first Kingkiller Chronicles book, can't say it was my thing. Mainly (or rather, almost entirely) down to Kvothe. I think you can guess why.

On the flipside, I really like Mistborn, of which I've read the first trilogy. Hope to someday start on the Wax and Wayne books, or start on Stormlight.

Oh man, I still have the two big Deltora Quest tomes (books 1-8) on my book shelf. I barely remember them now, but I read them really fast when I was in Elementary. Pretty good books for a kid.
I had a hard time figuring out how to pronounce Lief though. Just went with leaf. It was all about Barda though, I recall him being the badass fighter.
It ended kinda on a non-ending though. Like hey we got the belt, and now the shadowdude is gone...or is he? Come back for the next books!

I always pronounced it as "Leaf," or sometimes "Lee-ef." Still, the anime agrees with the "Leaf" pronounciation.

Funny about the ending though - I never really saw the need to go beyond the first series, and it came as a surprise to me years later to learn of the novels beyond it (I've only ever read the first series). The Shadow Lord is a weird one too. I thought that in the book, his defeat was underwhelming - Lief puts on the belt, Shadow Lord is banished. In the anime, we have something out of Power Rangers with a giant Lief fighting a giant Shadow Lord. Surely there's a happy medium somewhere?

 

[PapaGreg096]

Yoshiro Togashi- Not only is he good for nostalgia but he also knows how to write well written characters with Blue and Orange morality.

Brian K Vaughn- Nobody made feel like he does whether from happiness to sadness I just love his work I just love his work

Robert Kirkman- He does have a hard on for killing off characters but issue 100 of the Walking Dead made my hands shake

ONE- I just love how this dude subverts Shonen Cliches all the while makes decent stories on his own.

Garth Ennis- Unapologetic and offensive if he doesn't make you wince at least once then its one of his weaker works

 

[the December King]

Got it to three categories, each led by an individual candidate.

1 - Lovecraft and his web of associated writers and contemporaries, fellows like Fritz Leiber, Clark Ashton Smith, August Derleth, Agernon Blackwood, Robert Chambers, Robert E. Howard, Zealia Bishop, and some of their successors, like Ramsey Campbell or my personal favorite author, T E D Klein. This group has been the most influential on me: Cosmic horror and weird fiction.

2 - Stephen King. I will also include Dean Koontz, Anne Rice and Nick Cutter(even though I didn't really like The Deep, I loved The Troop) , and countless anthologies and collections: the authors of modern horror.

3 - Tolkien. I will also include Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickmann, R.A.Salvatore, George R.R.Martin, Brian Ruckley, Douglas Nicholas and Patrick Rothfuss - medieval fantasy.

In summation, as it currently stands, I guess it would be something like this:

1 - H.P. Lovecraft, The Color Out of Space
2 - T.E.D. Klein, all of his work ( 4 shorts and a novel)
3 - Stephen King, The Wind Through the Keyhole
4 - Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings
5 - Nick Cutter, The Troop

 

[Glongpre]

Only read the first Kingkiller Chronicles book, can't say it was my thing. Mainly (or rather, almost entirely) down to Kvothe. I think you can guess why.

Hmmm, is it because he is an arrogant ass?

Idk, I like Kvothe because Pat has taken the special hero trope and messed around with it. Kvothe has that special something-something, however, he always seems to screw things up for himself. I thought he was a refreshing character, same with Denna. He builds them up like they will get together like in every other book, but they are almost attracted and repelled in equal measure.
Geez, I do not do his writing credit. Which is also why I like the series, his prose is magnificent. Everything just flows so nicely.
And he layers so many things in the story, it is absurd. Seriously, check out the reddit, there are some mindblowing theories, on the R+L=J(ASOIAF) level.

 

[Hawki]

Only read the first Kingkiller Chronicles book, can't say it was my thing. Mainly (or rather, almost entirely) down to Kvothe. I think you can guess why.

Hmmm, is it because he is an arrogant ass?

Pretty much. That, and he's a Gary Stu who succeeds in everything, or at least, excels in absolutely everything that he does. I get that the story arguably has some bias, in that Kvothe is relating his experiences, but it doesn't make it any more compelling for me.

 

[MeatMachine]

1) Ned Vizzini
(for the depressed, yet quixotic teenager I was).
2) Albert Camus
(for the lost, confused young adult I was).
3) Vox Day
(for the socially-conscious critical thinker I am now).
4) Mark Twain
(for being a affluent, white, 19th century Southern progressive that was both reasonable, articulate, and utterly entertaining).
5) J. D. Salinger
(for the same reason as Ned Vizzini, albeit a bit more pessimistic).

 

[RedDeadFred]

Only read the first Kingkiller Chronicles book, can't say it was my thing. Mainly (or rather, almost entirely) down to Kvothe. I think you can guess why.

Hmmm, is it because he is an arrogant ass?

Pretty much. That, and he's a Gary Stu who succeeds in everything, or at least, excels in absolutely everything that he does. I get that the story arguably has some bias, in that Kvothe is relating his experiences, but it doesn't make it any more compelling for me.

How does being skillful make someone a Gary Stu? He's a gifted performer and smart... That's it. His performance capabilities allow him to naturally get people to like him, but he has very few meaningful relationships. Kvothe has tons of flaws and a lot of the issues he tackles are his own fault. You also can't really argue him being a Gary Stu as far as an author insert since I doubt Rothfuss sees himself as such an incredible fuck up that he potentially ruins the world. He was an arrogant kid who didn't think of consequences and as we see during the present time sections, he's paying dearly for this.

It's fine if you don't like how he's written. Different strokes and all that.

 

[Hawki]

How does being skillful make someone a Gary Stu? He's a gifted performer and smart... That's it. His performance capabilities allow him to naturally get people to like him, but he has very few meaningful relationships. Kvothe has tons of flaws and a lot of the issues he tackles are his own fault. You also can't really argue him being a Gary Stu as far as an author insert since I doubt Rothfuss sees himself as such an incredible fuck up that he potentially ruins the world. He was an arrogant kid who didn't think of consequences and as we see during the present time sections, he's paying dearly for this.

It's fine if you don't like how he's written. Different strokes and all that.

Being skillful doesn't make you a Gary/Mary, but ideally you don't want your character to be perfect. It's been awhile since I read the book, but from the outset, Kvothe is established as a gifted musician. He then loses his family and goes to a university, where, despite his poverty, he excels in everything he does, even surpassing his own teacher, despite any prior education in sympathy (I think, I recall he was something like a gypsy who'd never be exposed to formal academia before). In the midst of this, it seems that every girl he meets has a 'thing' for him in some manner or another. All the while, he remains arrogant, and given how he narrates the story in the present, it looks like he's remained arrogant, and I can't recall any moment or comment where it's pointed out as a flaw. Kvothe succeeds in everything he does, because it seems that he's 'just that good.'

Also, the idea of self-inserts. A Gary Stu/Mary Sue isn't necessarily self-insert. Also, as someone who's been writing and posting stories for the past decade (no, I'm not putting myself on the same level as Rothfuss), in my experience, self-inserts aren't necessarily intentional. There was a story I wrote where I had an OC, where I left it on the backburner, came back to it after a few years, and realized that my younger self had unintentionally created a self-insert, prompting me to rewrite the story from scratch (and for other reasons). Likewise, in experience, one can become invested in characters that one doesn't expect to, and I do recall that Rowling and Martin have identified themselves as being most akin to Hermione and Tyrion, or at least aspiring to be. So, maybe Kvothe is a self-insert, maybe he isn't. But as a character who succeeds in everything, and doesn't have any flaws (bar the arrogance, which is never really presented as a negative), if he HAD been a self-insert, would anyone be surprised?

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

In no particular order:

[li]Terry Pratchet
I've read everything he's written and like most all of it. For some reason, I also like using his Discworld as inspiration for my D&D campaign, more so than LoTR, ASoIaF, Wheel of Time, The Witcher or any other fantasy work.[/li]
[li]Kentaro Miura
Berserk was one of the first manga I've read and the one that most convinced me to explore the medium more. It's also one of the few long-running manga I still keep up with, having abondoned most others.[/li]

[li]Herman Brusselmans
A prolific Belgian writer whose work often depicts the everyday lives of poor or socially outcast people, substance abuse, violence, the drudgeries of work in a rather crass, uninhibited and often autobiographical way. His style is reminiscent of Charles Bukowski. I read a lot of his books when I was younger. Not so much nowadays, but I still really enjoy his Guggenheimer trilogy.[/li]

[li]Andre Franquin
A Belgian comic artist best known for creating Gaston, Marsupilami and the early issues of Spirou & Fantasio. To this day, Gaston IMO remains the best and funniest gag comic strips I've ever read. I also really like his work on Spirou.[/li]
[li]Willem Elsschot
A Belgian novel writer who wrote De Verlossing, Kaas and Lijmen/Het been, probably my favorite Dutch novels of all time.[/li]

 

[Fallow]

• 
  [li]Terry Pratchett (RIP in peace)
  The first 'real' book I ever read (started off on Shannara/Belgarion but those are more "baby's first book without pictures" than actual literature). This one set the stage for how awesome and expanding literature could be. I still read them from time to time, but it's not as fun with a critical eye.
  -
  [/li]
  
  
  [li]Robert Jordan (RIP in peace)
  Not actually a great author, The Wheel of Time series was enough to entertain a young enthusiast that consumed books at a ravenous pace. Still haven't read the finishing books after he passed away.
  -
  [/li]
  
  [li]Steven Erikson
  Jesus Tittyfucking Christ this guy is good. Let me read some more of that, oh wait, nevermind. This guy converted his RPG adventure into a book, and it was so fucking amazing I read the whole thing start to finish without getting up (and his books are long). Then he started writing ahead of that, and it all turned to meh (powercreep like crazy). The first 4-5 books however are top of the line and shows just how far you can take a fantasy setting while still maintaining absolute immersion.
  -
  [/li]
  
  [li]Iain M. Banks (RIP in peace)
  The Patron Saint of modern Sci-Fi, Iain wrote the Culture series of independent, self-contained books. These are top of the line with 'Excession' taking the first spot. If you like Sci-Fi you need to praise Iain every morning.
  -
  [/li]
  
  [li]Robin Hobb
  Always a bit of a downer, Robin Hobb has managed every time to bum me out by creating believable characters and then making them suffer horribly. No-one is quite as adept at being that guy as Robin, and I bet she's an absolute drag at parties. Writes great books though if you're into the empathy thing.
  -
  [/li]
  
  [li]Honorable mentions
  Marcus Herniman
  J. R. R. Tolkien
  Frank Herbert
  William Gibson
  Terry Brooks
  David Eddings
  Terry Goodkind
  Tad Williams
  [/li]
  

 

[The Philistine]

Edward Packard - Choose Your Own Adventure series.
I absolutely adored this as a young child. Doubtful that I understood much of it, and cheated reading through them frequently. But they kicked off my appreciation for story telling.

R.L. Stine - Goosebumps
I think Stine is kind of a default influence for my generation. Can't say it built much of an appreciation for horror for me, but he managed to make horror enjoyable. Welcome to Camp Nightmare, Beast from the East, and Werewolf of Fever Swamp are all books I look back fondly on.

R.A. Salvatore - The Drizzt series
Probably one of strongest influences on my literary preferences for a long time. Around 10 or 12 I borrowed The Halfling's Gem from my cousin while on a trip to the beach, and dove head first into the Forgotten Realms line of books, especially Salvatore's. My appreciation for adventure fantasy stems primarily from his books.

J.R.R. Tolkein - LOTR, The Hobbit, and Silmarilion
Admittedly, I never read these books seriously until Peter Jackson's movies. I just wasn't into dense reading as a kid. The Hobbit and Silmarilion, moreso than the LOTR trilogy, reignited my love for myths and folklore that I had as a very young child but had dropped off as I aged. I still love snapping up any folklore books I can get my hands on, thanks to Tolkein's mythologized world.

Jim Butcher - Dresden Files
For a long time I had very specific tastes in which modern fiction books I read. Coming across Jim Butcher kind of signaled the turning point in my literary tastes. From mostly Forgotten Realms based stories to a much wider range of scifi, fantasy, and general fiction. Of course part of that may also just be that Dresden Files is what hooked me into Audible, which allowed me to squeeze more literary time into my schedule.

 

[Tanis]

Peter_F._Hamilton
There's 'sci-fi' and then there's PFH Sci-Fi.
The rare, Tolkien-like, writer that can mix complex sci-fi with religion, philosophy, fantasy, adult themes, and humor.
All wrapped in the kind of prose that requires more than one read to fully 'get'.

Tracy/Laura Hickman and Margaret Weis
A 'cheat', but a needed one.
While the world of the Lord of the Rings may be an 'unending classic', I've ENJOYED more of the Dragonlance WORLD.
From mythos, to the various writers who have built up the universe, to the ease of reading.
Dragonlance is, hands down, my favorite fantasy series...pound for pound.

Michael A. Stackpole
His X-Wing series would have gotten him on any Top 10, but it's his work on 'I, Jedi' that bumped him to the Top 5.
I, Jedi is everything you wanted in a Star Wars book, but didn't think to ask for.
From a deep respect of canon, to compelling characters, to mature handling of things like depression.
I, Jedi is the one book in all of the 'Legacy' series that I would LOVE to have been given a mini-series.

Hiroyuki Morioka
Japanese sci-fi author of the Seikai series.
The fact that only fan-translations exist of most of his work is a goddamn crime against all humanity.
:/

Isuna Hasekura
Writer of the phenomenal 'Spice & Wolf' books.
Anyone who can make me give a shit about economics needs to be on this list.