I'm eager to learn more about readers from different parts of the world. I've only had the pleasure of conversing with people with similar interests as me. I have always been a fan of literature, I think the first book I read was a pirate series book in primary school. Those books were interesting but what really caught my heart were books on Greek mythology (I love The Odyssey) and Roald Dahl books like 'The BFG' and 'Fantastic Mr Fox'. Later in life politics and true stories (A Beautiful Mind, Long Road To Freedom) inspired me in new ways.
I confess I read less these days, but the stories I have read have stayed with me. I am a writer so I try to spend most of my time writing (to avoid the great ideas of other books creeping into my plots.). I know why I read and write, but I know everyone else has their reasons and I would like hear what they are.
If you want to connect on Goodreads please share your links.
mine is: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8 ... ambo_Banda
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As a reader or writer what motivates you?
- mambo_banda101
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- danimorg62
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Re: As a reader or writer what motivates you?
My first book – read alone and of my own free will – was a story about a little witch. I read it in my closet with a flashlight. I had it only for one week and before it was due back to the library I read it as many times as I could. The act of going up to my room, getting my flashlight, crawling to the back of the closet, uncovering the book – it was all prelude. I was going into another world. It was the first “other” world I knew and before I found it, I did not know there could be other worlds apart from the one in my head.
I was probably six years old.
I believe that first exciting entry into a new world set the tone and is the reason I read. Up until about ten years ago, I read only for pleasure. In my early teens I read the books of high school (Catcher in the Rye, The Pearl, Gatsby, some Shakespeare etc etc etc). When I was seventeen I borrowed a book by Catherine Cookson and grew fond of the mining families and words like “barren” and “da” and started drinking tea. In my twenties I put the kids to bed and snuggled up with Stephen King and other similar writers and then, contemporary fiction. Very few of the books I’ve read had any significant impact on my life but many had something that affected me – a character, a bit of prose, even one line that struck me and those little… tidbits… sort of moved in and are still with me. But the handful of fiction which impacted me most (Anna Quindlen’s One True Thing, Stephen King’s The Stand, Jane Alexander’s The Book of Ruth, Catherine Cookson’s The Dwelling Place, for example) are still here on my book shelves and are re-visited periodically and act as a “old friend I went to school with” stimulant.
Somewhere along the line fiction lost its allure and I started wandering into other territories. I am a fan of Bill Bryson and wish he would write A Short History of Nearly Every Religion. I own, but have not fully read, The God Delusion, God is Not Great (I am a Hitch fan), Letter to a Christian Nation - a shift in interest that came about when I found a copy of the works of Robert Ingersoll. (This interest seems to be waning, perhaps as a result of my fading anger – which I assume is temporary – but oh how I strive for indifference!). I like to read important-material-turned-layman-readable books like E=MC2, An Anthropologist on Mars, Stiff yada yada – the books that make learning fun.
And every now and then, I feel like there is a story in my head that has to get on paper and that’s when I write - if you could call it that - but it, too, is just for fun.
I was probably six years old.
I believe that first exciting entry into a new world set the tone and is the reason I read. Up until about ten years ago, I read only for pleasure. In my early teens I read the books of high school (Catcher in the Rye, The Pearl, Gatsby, some Shakespeare etc etc etc). When I was seventeen I borrowed a book by Catherine Cookson and grew fond of the mining families and words like “barren” and “da” and started drinking tea. In my twenties I put the kids to bed and snuggled up with Stephen King and other similar writers and then, contemporary fiction. Very few of the books I’ve read had any significant impact on my life but many had something that affected me – a character, a bit of prose, even one line that struck me and those little… tidbits… sort of moved in and are still with me. But the handful of fiction which impacted me most (Anna Quindlen’s One True Thing, Stephen King’s The Stand, Jane Alexander’s The Book of Ruth, Catherine Cookson’s The Dwelling Place, for example) are still here on my book shelves and are re-visited periodically and act as a “old friend I went to school with” stimulant.
Somewhere along the line fiction lost its allure and I started wandering into other territories. I am a fan of Bill Bryson and wish he would write A Short History of Nearly Every Religion. I own, but have not fully read, The God Delusion, God is Not Great (I am a Hitch fan), Letter to a Christian Nation - a shift in interest that came about when I found a copy of the works of Robert Ingersoll. (This interest seems to be waning, perhaps as a result of my fading anger – which I assume is temporary – but oh how I strive for indifference!). I like to read important-material-turned-layman-readable books like E=MC2, An Anthropologist on Mars, Stiff yada yada – the books that make learning fun.
And every now and then, I feel like there is a story in my head that has to get on paper and that’s when I write - if you could call it that - but it, too, is just for fun.
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Re: As a reader or writer what motivates you?
Thanks for sharing your motivation in such great detail. I also like some if Stephen King's books (Dreamcatcher) and alot of adaptations bases on his work, like "Under The Dome".
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Re: As a reader or writer what motivates you?
Many of the things that influence my thinking, writing, and reading, involve trips into the mind. Psychological adventures, if you will, that serve to define a line of thinking, define characters inside and out, even if those definitions arise just from the habitual idiosyncrasies that writers give their characters to make them live and breathe in the natural world.
Also, those fiction books that hold my mind in elated contentment fascinate me beyond compare as I don't put the book under the microscope to see what is holding my attention and my mind so, but rather, the author. I am always fascinated and, therefore, inspired/motivated by the facets of the author's life that inspired them and pushed them; motivated them to write as they do. I love the back stories behind all works of art and that further inspires/motivates me. I love to understand meaning behind subtle works of literature, art, and/or creation that transcend the work from a quiet brilliance to a kind of overwhelming amazement... That's what motivates me... =)
Also, those fiction books that hold my mind in elated contentment fascinate me beyond compare as I don't put the book under the microscope to see what is holding my attention and my mind so, but rather, the author. I am always fascinated and, therefore, inspired/motivated by the facets of the author's life that inspired them and pushed them; motivated them to write as they do. I love the back stories behind all works of art and that further inspires/motivates me. I love to understand meaning behind subtle works of literature, art, and/or creation that transcend the work from a quiet brilliance to a kind of overwhelming amazement... That's what motivates me... =)
Feel free to enjoy "Reprieve of Contemplation" now on sale through Amazon. I thank you all for your support by reading my work!
Amazon link - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QEERXN8
Also feel free to enjoy "Origins of the Dreamweaver" now on sale through Amazon. Once again, I thank you all for your support by reading my work!
Amazon link - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NIDLN02
Amazon link - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QEERXN8
Also feel free to enjoy "Origins of the Dreamweaver" now on sale through Amazon. Once again, I thank you all for your support by reading my work!
Amazon link - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NIDLN02
- mambo_banda101
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Re: As a reader or writer what motivates you?
I also read 'The Pearl' while I was in school, I liked it and still do. I've reread it over the years for inspiration. I also have a list of books that made an impact on me, though I would like to add some of them to my bookshelf at some point in the future.danimorg62 wrote:My first book – read alone and of my own free will – was a story about a little witch. I read it in my closet with a flashlight. I had it only for one week and before it was due back to the library I read it as many times as I could. The act of going up to my room, getting my flashlight, crawling to the back of the closet, uncovering the book – it was all prelude. I was going into another world. It was the first “other” world I knew and before I found it, I did not know there could be other worlds apart from the one in my head.
I was probably six years old.
I believe that first exciting entry into a new world set the tone and is the reason I read. Up until about ten years ago, I read only for pleasure. In my early teens I read the books of high school (Catcher in the Rye, The Pearl, Gatsby, some Shakespeare etc etc etc). When I was seventeen I borrowed a book by Catherine Cookson and grew fond of the mining families and words like “barren” and “da” and started drinking tea. In my twenties I put the kids to bed and snuggled up with Stephen King and other similar writers and then, contemporary fiction. Very few of the books I’ve read had any significant impact on my life but many had something that affected me – a character, a bit of prose, even one line that struck me and those little… tidbits… sort of moved in and are still with me. But the handful of fiction which impacted me most (Anna Quindlen’s One True Thing, Stephen King’s The Stand, Jane Alexander’s The Book of Ruth, Catherine Cookson’s The Dwelling Place, for example) are still here on my book shelves and are re-visited periodically and act as a “old friend I went to school with” stimulant..................
Thanks for sharing the great post.
- mambo_banda101
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Re: As a reader or writer what motivates you?
Dreamcatcher was a good book, but I think the movie didn't do the book justice.maggie_thorn101 wrote:Thanks for sharing your motivation in such great detail. I also like some if Stephen King's books (Dreamcatcher) and alot of adaptations bases on his work, like "Under The Dome".
Thanks for sharing.
- mambo_banda101
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Re: As a reader or writer what motivates you?
Fiction imitates reality (and sometimes reality imitates fiction), character driven stories are great, getting into the heads of the characters can be interesting. Though I've never tried to dissect a piece of work in order to better understand an author, that fascinates me.Jokermagician wrote:Many of the things that influence my thinking, writing, and reading, involve trips into the mind. Psychological adventures, if you will, that serve to define a line of thinking, define characters inside and out, even if those definitions arise just from the habitual idiosyncrasies that writers give their characters to make them live and breathe in the natural world.
Also, those fiction books that hold my mind in elated contentment fascinate me beyond compare as I don't put the book under the microscope to see what is holding my attention and my mind so, but rather, the author. I am always fascinated and, therefore, inspired/motivated by the facets of the author's life that inspired them and pushed them; motivated them to write as they do. I love the back stories behind all works of art and that further inspires/motivates me. I love to understand meaning behind subtle works of literature, art, and/or creation that transcend the work from a quiet brilliance to a kind of overwhelming amazement... That's what motivates me... =)
Thanks for sharing.
- danimorg62
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Re: As a reader or writer what motivates you?
In the book by Stephen King, On Writing, he recommend aspiring writers read every day. I think he went as far as saying it was imperative for good writing. It made sense to me when I read it but it is interesting to hear that it can actually be a detriment.mambo_banda101 wrote: I confess I read less these days, but the stories I have read have stayed with me. I am a writer so I try to spend most of my time writing (to avoid the great ideas of other books creeping into my plots.).
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Re: As a reader or writer what motivates you?
I wish I could read fiction everyday but I can't due to my work life and life but I consume all sort of information on a normal day from blogs to articles. I have found people are different, some writers thrive while consuming other literature and others no so much.
Personally it's writing styles that get in my way. Inconsistent perspective, plot losing focus and unconsciously imitating other writers styles are the problems I encounter when I mix writing and reading, but that's just me. I don't know about other people.
Of course I read in-between writing books because I have to improve my craft, and reading is one of the best ways to do that.
Personally it's writing styles that get in my way. Inconsistent perspective, plot losing focus and unconsciously imitating other writers styles are the problems I encounter when I mix writing and reading, but that's just me. I don't know about other people.
Of course I read in-between writing books because I have to improve my craft, and reading is one of the best ways to do that.
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Re: As a reader or writer what motivates you?
As a author, emotion motivates while writing. I aim at taking the readers on a drive with their emotions, such that they share the emotions of the character. While I writing this book named "On A Drive With Life!! " my feelings are being portrayed as a part of the story line, that they may have underwent at a certain phase in their lives.