Reading Journey Part 1
09 January 2019
One of my favorite hobbies is to read. I go through an absurd amount of books in a short period of time and, thus, I’m constantly on the look out for new ones. In this post, I just want to go over some of the factors that I think influenced me to read so much and what really influenced or stood out to me in my years. I estimated with one of my friends that I’d gone through roughly 1500-2000 books, which is an absolutely crazy for my age (I’m 22 at the time of writing this).
The Early Years
One of the most important reasons for why I read has to do with my parents. We always had a small collection of books at home that my dad had collected through the years, and both my parents would encourage me to read. My parents, much to my horror, fondly recount tales of me only eating when they’d read Thomas the Tank engine books with the famous Despicable, and 2 other D words that I don’t even remember.
Around 1st-2nd grade, I got started with reading Roald Dahls and Enid Blyton’s books. One of the Dahls books that I distinctly remember was about a man who while incredibly rich, sacrificed everything to study under a yogi in India and even tried to master the art of walking on live coals without hurting himself too badly. Honestly, I’m shocked that I even remember these considering I don’t remember too many specific memories from my time in Australia. Enid Blyton’s books kicked off my fascination with mystery and good plots. The Secret Seven’s adventures were something that I got really into whenever I’d visit grandparents or get books in gifts. The plots were relatively simple, from my limited memory, but the attractive portion about it was that it would make me think about possible storylines and character development. That is probably the most common feature amongst the variety of books that I’ve read.
For some reason, I had a real blockage to reading Harry Potter whilst the whole world was up in a storm about it. Admittedly, I was also extremely stubborn back then as I didn’t even like the taste of chocolate. Needless to say, my tastes have significantly, hopefully, improved significantly since then. I actually started reading Goblet of Fire with my mom reading it to me initially when we moved back to India in my 3rd grade. One of the few times in my life where I’ve had nightmares from characters from books was due to the scene where Voldemort is rebirthed. It gave me a ridiculous fear of the dark initially. However, I loved the book and blazed through the rest of the books that were available at the time. While we had a copy of the Philosopher’s Stone from my parents attempts to get me to read it, I had none of the other books. We got a copy of Chamber of Secrets from a roadside stall, but it had absolutely horrible print with pages just missing lines here and there. I got a good copy of Prisoner of Azkaban, but for Order of the Phoenix I actually got my elder cousins’ copy which is currently so completely broken down. The cover is completely torn away and I think the first chapter at the Dursley’s is completely missing. My original copies of Goblet of Fire and Prisoner of Azkaban are not even with me as I gave it to a friend, but never got it back since I moved. I’ll talk more about the influences of this great series later on as I can probably talk about the Harry Potter series more than any reader of this blog (try me if you want! I’m curious to see if you will ;)). I’m kind of going chronologically with this, but also winging the order of books.
During my first year in India, I didn’t really have access to a great library. There was a British Library of Pune or something like that, but I never had the freedom to truly go berserk with books as I did in my later years. I don’t really recall finding anything that got my attention during that one year. Sadly, it was also a time when I was bullied a lot due to being unable to speak Marathi or Hindi to a good extent as well as being a newcomer to the school. I wished I’d had the books back then to help me out as they did so many times in the future whenever I’d feel low. On a more psychological level, I think a big reason why I love reading so much is the fact that I can do it anywhere without having to depend on anyone. The independent and cheap nature of it truly aligns with my nature and is something that I can do whether I’m sick, healthy, happy, or sad. The times that I was unable to read as a kid was actually when I was in a car or a bus. I had really bad instances of motion sickness when I’d read in the car, especially with A/C for some reason. I don’t have this problem as much when I read on my phone or Kindle, luckily, though it does still come up here and there.
One glaring piece of the reading puzzle was my inability to find enjoyment in reading ‘classics’. Stories like treasure island, Gulliver’s Travels, and Huckleberry Finn were some of the most boring books that I’ve read. In fact, I could never get myself to ever finish any of these so called ‘classics’. I found a lack of relatability, awe, or interest in the fictional worlds created and the stories told.
The Great Libraries
Coming to the US and being able to immerse myself in both the school libraries and the public libraries was one of the best things to happen to me outside of discovering programming. During this initial phase, I discovered a huge interest in novels that personified animals. This started with the Warriors Series on cats.
Warriors was a series about wild cats living in conjunction with humans in the wilderness, living in clans, and leading a completely hidden life that we didn’t know about, but yet was affected by the humans actions in quite severe ways. The main story followed the protagonist Firepaw -> Fireheart -> Firestar, as he goes from being a tabby domestic cat to being able to lead a clan like a leader against numerous odds. One thing that I really like about such novels is that the authors can talk about sensitive issues in our world without any consequences since the characters are just animals over actual humans. The commentary on inter-clan relationships, discrimination of domestic cats, and the tones of unity over conflict allowed the books to transcend a book about being about bad ass cats to include some social commentary. The battles in the series were quite imaginative in the way the cats used their limited weapons to be able to come up with different moves, flanking techiques, and even strategic alliances to win battles at the crucial moment.
Guardians of Ga’hoole was another such memorable series but with owls instead of cats. It followed the story of 4 young owls separated from their parents who bonded together as a family to rescue young owls who were being stolen from their parents by a nefarious organization. It pitted brother against brother in a clash that spanned multiple books that was a lot about the choices one makes in the present over the family or the choices one has made in the past. The battles again drew me into the world with owls wielding fire branches and diving into forest fires. It introduced triangulation, navigation of the world using winds and the stars, as well as getting me used to what starboard vs port meant! There were some fantastical elements in the later books about the power of the dire wolves and the power of the moon, but these were done in a way that made it natural to the storyline. There were even a few books where the great legends of the past were revealed to us in a narrative fashion, that explained the legends that we’d only heard about for 10 books.
The last of the animal series’ that I fell in love with was the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. Set in a world where rodents, rabbits, and badgers are the protagonists and everything from crows, foxes, pirate seafarers, and other animals tend to be the villains with notable exceptions. The series was composed of a set of unrelated books set in this world of police hares who report to a god tier badger who lives in a stable volcano that has been excavated. The titular abbey, that is called Redwall, is a haven for orphans and the lost that acts as a barrier and a bastion of ‘good’. The series deals with a variety of conquerors and I’d say the main themes were don’t judge a book by a cover since bravery, heroism, and intelligence may come from the unlikeliest of places. I actually found this 21 book series through Avinash’s summer book reading list and managed to get hooked to this world of the small creatures.
Similarly, I also got into Artemis Fowl through Avinash’s summer reading lists. I wish the schools that I had gone to had similar programs that could have introduced me to series at that age, but I think I managed to read an absurd amount regardless of the moving and regardless of the english programs at the schools. Artemis Fowl followed the rise of a genius boy protected by his handy butler as they basically reeked havoc over the fairy underworld and through the various schemes of this young ‘evil’ mastermind. The concept of parentalization is present in this book as neither of Artemis’ parents are really around to take care of him. His father was kidnapped by the Russian Mafia, and Artemis dedicates his life in trying to secure enough money to get enough money for his father’s life. The notion of boyhood genius, with a questionable morality, was something that we don’t really see characterized in fairy tale stories where everything is in black and white. I think this series particularly highlights my interest in nuanced, complicated characters that don’t just toe the line, but do what is in their self interests even if it comes at a high cost, but at the same time addressing the issues that arise due to that devil-may care attitude.
Alex Rider is in a similar vein to Artemis’ story, since we have an orphaned boyhood spy who is forced to join the MI6, as no one would expect a middle school spy. The whole series basically is a far more enjoyable young James Bond, where the villains continuously underestimate Alex. There are a lot of good character building story arcs and interwoven plot lines that stretch beyond books like the whole Scorpia organization. Anthony Horowitz is able to masterfully write a teenage boy who has been trained to be a killer spy, but doesn’t want to be one and deals with the morality associated with that throughout the whole series. Horowitz also wrote the Power of Five series that I read the first 3-4 books of but didn’t enjoy the final book as much.
Once back in India, my selection of novels turned to far more different stories as I no longer had access to the great libraries of the schools. Our library at school couldn’t even try to look like a library, with a pitiful number of books. We tried to find a few libraries, but it would be a few years until I had access one that I was actually happy about. In the meantime, I would beg my parents for books and so on. I think this is the period when I just started rereading any and every series that I had left in our collection. The number of times that I’ve read Warriors, Ga’hoole, Harry Potter, and more were probably the only things keeping my curiosity in check during those first two years back in India.
Back to more books! I believe I discovered Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot based on Amma bringing back a book from one of her friends that I devoured over a weekend. I still haven’t had a chance to see the Orient Express, but the sheer thriller ride that book was stands out in my memory. I think it’s fairly uncontested that Christie was an absolute master in the art of presenting clues and red herrings and creating a mystery that is only visible to Poirot and yet hidden from the reader, but with just enough to keep turning the page.
Sherlock Holmes was the natural transition for me to make from Poirot. His social awkwardness characterized from Watson’s writing style and fog of war made the stories great to read since they were full of suspense and good villains. Moriarty particularly was a highly enjoyable character who was a great anti-thesis to Sherlock, as he was what the dark side of Sherlock would’ve been without the morality of Watson. The show being a great watch certainly helped solidify my interest in the character and stories after I read the series
At some point, I think I read Eragon in the library but never owned the book. If there’s one thing in fantasy that I truly enjoy, it’s dragons. Give me heaps and loads of them and I’ll eat up every book. Anyway, on one long train ride back to Chennai, I managed to get a beaten up fake copy of Eldest, the second book of the series, and it was amazing. The whole heartbreaking story of Oromis and Glaedr, Eragon finding out about his father, it was in my eyes a great story at the time. I remember when Inheritance came out in 10th grade, I knew I wanted to read it ASAP, and got Tejas, who had somehow got his pre-order earlier than me, to loan me the book over the weekend and give it back to him. I think I finished that book in one day with 220,000 words. I really thought till Eldest the series was an amazing series, but later, after exposing myself to some of the true greats like Lord of the Rings and even a bit of Star Wars, did my expectations of that story align more realistically. Don’t get me wrong, the concept of dragon riders who have a telepathic connection to their dragon partners and are able to use magic with just language is a very very appealing sell, but a book is about the plot and the greatness of the reread. Sadly, the Inheritance cycle pales a bit when it comes to those two facts. It didn’t help it that the ending of the last book basically spans half a book lol.
As I mentioned, we would take a lot of trains during my stay in India to visit both my grandparents and my cousins in Chennai and Bangalore. But, at those places I wouldn’t have anything to do because a) the internet was terrible and b) there was no one else my age that I knew well. I’d spend multiple weeks a year there and would need to amuse myself somehow. The lifesaver above all was this bookstore called Odyssey opposite my grandparents place. It has a truly special place in my heart since it introduced me to some of my favorite and most memorable series’ of all time. It was there I believe I took my first big steps into delving deep into the world of sci-fi and fantasy. Even when the store had given me all it had, I managed to find a truly extra-ordinarily dusty library in walking distance to my grandparents place. The first day I went to Odyssey, my grandfather wanted to come to show my how to cross the road haha. I still remember being frustrated since he took a long way around instead of a shortcut since it cut down my reading time.
The first Percy Jackson book that I ever read was ironically the Last Olympian, the last book of the original series. I had heard of this series a lot in middle school, but for some reason just refused to try or even look for the books. The Last Olympian blew me away. It had elemental powers, mythology, and a great humor. The book quickly sucked me in into reading the rest of the series as fast as possible. It was definitely my favorite series for a few years. The dynamics of the Greek Gods and the creative ways of using power all whilst integrating these mythological creatures and stories that I hadn’t been as exposed to was amazing. When the second series came out, I was super excited for it, but it seemed like only ever other book was a hit. There was an emotional bond to Percy and Annabeth’s story, but the rest of the group barring Leo felt flat and off tone. Rick Riordan was simply unable to deliver with 7 unique characters after being able to write a single good one. This is a big flaw of authors who try to change their style and charisma after their first hit series, where the second one inevitably falls flat because they lost their voice and what makes those books special. I still read most of the other books, and stayed up the whole night to read the Blood of Olympus and House of Hades, but overall was fairly disappointing.
Landmark, in Pune, ended up becoming my book haven where I’d go to find new books and just devour them. It was there that I believe I found the Isaac Asimov Foundation series and bought a few of those books. Asimov, for those that don’t know, is basically the god father of all sci-fi books. It was in these books that he introduces the concept of Psychohistory, a method of predicting large societal movements or changes but being unable to predict the actions of a single individual. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s a basic data modelling problem and machine learning is completely apt to this problem. It was an incredible concept that really blew my mind away at the subtlety at which it was used but not fully defined, kind of like the books that have a implicit magic system that’s not fully designed.
A lot of people suggest that the Narnia books are all time classics for fantasy, but when I read them I found them really lacking. The characters weren’t that interesting and the plot just involved a lot of deus ex machina constantly instead of having proper foreshadowing and explanations.
Another author that I really got into was Dan Brown in the far more fiction realm rather than just fantasy. His books starting with Da Vinci Code to Deception Fortress, are some of the best crafted plot and suspense based books. Angels and Demons was a complete thrill ride and actually made me want to learn much more about the Vatican. The way his stories deal with combining fiction with mythological or theological elements is what makes those books incredible. I haven’t been following his latest books since Inferno, as it seemed to have lost the initial wow factor that I used to enjoy. His books generally incorporated a lot of Christian mythology with secret nefarious organizations after the protagonist.
During the time in India without good libraries, I was looking for new books to get into. My dad started recommending me some of his favorite series’ as a kid. The first book that we bought, Fear is the Key, was a complete roller coaster of a series. The way the protagonist basically gets revenge against an oil czar for killing his family and company while he has to just listen on the radio created a gripping story. The way he portrayed the protagonist as an anti-hero made the story far better than I could have expected. That’s probably the best part about McLean’s stories in the way he builds suspense and doesn’t reveal the full information to the reader. The other stories like Where Eagles Dare, Guns of Navorone, Golden Gate, are just some of the best war and action stories I’ve ever read. His books are definitely very macho action heavy books, but they have an incredible depth to them that give them the reread factor across many years.
After going through most of the McLean books in the library, I transitioned to Frederick Forsyth. We had a few books of his that were leftovers from my dad, which I quickly gobbled up. The Fist Of God I think was the first book that I read, where for the majority of the book there were like 4 different threads going on completely disconnected to each other. Generally, I’d say I”m pretty good at recognizing where a story is going, which makes it far far better when a story is able to surprise me in any way. Forsyth has this masterful ability of being able ot weave disconnected threads together in the climax and blowing you away at the way everything comes together. The way he’s able to immerse the reader in a culture, in this case the Middle East, that I wasn’t as familiar with was truly a pleasure to read over and over again. His description of tactics, war rooms, and suspense are able to suck even a novice reader in and keep them turning every page subconsciously without stopping. I used to have this bad habit of flipping to the last few pages of a book at trying to see where the story would lead to that point. The book Day of the Jackal completely disabused me of this and I don’t think I’ve done it since. That was one of the only books where I didn’t finish a book that I truly enjoyed. I was actually pretty upset with myself for spoiling that book, but it was a really good lesson for myself and luckily haven’t repeated it since.
The Forsyth phase was absolutely phenomenal and I wish he had written more books of that high quality and calibre. One of Forsyth’s peers, Jeffrey Archer, caught my eye and I started getting into a lot of his books. The few books that instantly come to mind are the Kane and Abel series, All Amongst Equals, and A Prisoner of Birth. Kane and Abel was a phenomenal series that showed the power of will and how sheer determination and strength of will makes the impossible possible. Abel hails from Poland where he saw and dealt with Nazi Germany and was able to escape to America before starting his empire, and the struggles in dealt with. Kane was a prodigy at finance and had access to an empire, but was the open competitor to Abel. The story was a beautiful tale of both men and their families and the legacies that they dealt with and the struggles that they had. All Amongst Equals was a political fiction book dealing with the various British Political parties and the rise of 4 men who basically decide the state of the country. Archer has an incredible ability to keep everyone hooked on his stories and generates phenomenal page turners with surprises along the way culminating in a great ending. A Prisoner of Birth follows a similar story to a Few Good Men, where a person is purposefully framed for a crime and involves a savior of a lawyer to get them out of their fate. What truly gripped me about this story was the way Archer strung together the murder plot and the way the reader is constantly guessing “Who dun it?”.
Lord of the Rings is a series that basically forever changed my expectations for a fantasy series. Even though the Peter Jackson movies had long come out, I hadn’t really watched them nor followed them, so buying the book for the first time in Odyssey in Chennai. The next 3 days I basically just stayed put in Thatha’s swing, whilst I blazed through the book. Every time someone tells me that they found the series boring I say one thing, get through the first 100 pages and you’ll find yourself with something that gives you permanent entertainment for the rest of your life. The beauty of that series is such that every time I reread it, I discover something new or some hidden piece of lore. After all, there is a reason why people do their whole PhD’s studying the works of J.R.R Tolkien. While I generally like series with harder definitions of magic, Tolkien manages to make a world with magic the background and highlights the sheer humanity of his cast of characters. Whether it’s the pride of Gondor in Boromir, to the straightforwardness in Faramir, to the insane loyalty that the hero of the story Sam provides, there is a human depiction of every single character. The one thing that did fail, but maybe not so, was the depiction of Sauron as this looming threat that can see and know all, though we never really get to see his true power, only through his mouthpieces the Nazgul. Of course there are Deus Ex Machina’s in the story like the eagles and Gandalf, the story holds a weight of its own due to the sheer history of the world that he developed. Tolkien is known as the father of modern fantasy for single fact that he managed to incorporate so many fantastical elements in a single book like Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Tree men, and moreover cemented in our heads that these are they way that these races interact and live together in a fantastical world. He basically created the infrastructure for so many authors who could adapt and reinvent based on his framework. It’s unlikely that any other author is going to be able to have such a phenomenal impact on the world of fantasy as J.R.R Tolkien.
I haven’t even gotten into his best work in my opinion. The Silmarillion is the story from the start of time where the world that Lord of the Rings in is based which was created by Eru Illuvitar and his Valar. It tells of the rise of the Valar and the Creation Song, where Morgoth the most powerful was able to create disharmony and tried to steal his power, but all apparently according to Illuvitar’s plan since the song was the true way the world was supposed to go. The book talks about the awakening of the elves, their move from Culvarnen and the migration to the homeland of the Valar and the light of the two trees. We then learn of the sheer power of the oath of Feanor, the first Kinslaying of the Elves, the migration of the elves back to Middle Earth. The establishment of the 3 great elven kingdoms, how each of them fell, the sad story of Turin Talambar, the rise and fall of Numenor, and finally the last migration to Middle Earth. The entirety of the Silmarillion is probably the best history textbook that you can ever dream about reading, honestly.
Continuing on the lines of soft magic, another series that I discovered in Landmark was the Magician’s Apprentice series by Trudi Canavan. Her style of combining the protagonist with an anti-hero with a compelling ideology made the story quite a compelling read. Admittedly, the main characters are initially pretty overpowered, but it gets balanced out by an opposing nation with the same power. There is a definite power creep that occurs in these books, but that’s pretty much every mafia game that happens.
Garth Nix’s Sabriel series was an introduction for me to the world of horror fantasy. It’s been a really long time since I read the series, but there were some artifacts that basically interacted with the dead and honestly, the whole world seemed like what Game of Thrones should’ve had north of the wall. Overall a solid series with a good brother-sister relationship with the protagonist in a world that overall seemed a bit sparse. This series had a good female protagonist.