My bloggy pal Regina, tagged me with this meme about three weeks ago and I’m finally getting around to posting it. Sorry it took so long Regina…thanks so much for tagging me. (smile) This was a fun meme. And hey, please stop by and visit Regina, she has a great blog.
This tag was to list 25 writers who have influenced me. I had to have a think on this one. I have always loved reading. Since I was a little girl, books have provided shelter for me when life has been tough, opened my eyes to many things in life, and helped my imagination soar. Each writer on my list has influenced me in some way. Some of these writers I discovered when I was a girl and they’ve stayed favorites into my womanhood; and some writers I’ve discovered or come to love as I’ve matured. All of them are brilliant to me and have lighted my path in some way, whether in a profound way or just for the simple joy of reading.
Without further ado, here’s my list, in no particular order:
1. Alice Walker
2. Toni Morrison
3. Agatha Christie
4. Dorothy West
5. Zora Neale Hurston
6. Judy Blume
7. Mary Higgins Clark
8. Edgar Allan Poe
9. Dan Brown
10. Virginia Woolf
11. Eckhart Tolle
12. Stephen King
13. Alex Haley
14. Maya Angelou
15. Langston Hughes
16. Lorraine Hansberry
17. Emily Bronte
18. Charles Dickens
19. Harper Lee
20. Carolyn Keene
21. Lalita Tademy
22. James Baldwin
23. Jane Austen
24. Mark Twain
25. Pearl Cleage
As I mentioned before, this list is in no particular order. However, it’s very fortunate that Ms. Cleage’s name came at #25. I have a personal anecdote to tell about her. I love her writing and so a friend and I went to see her do a reading in Atlanta a few years ago. Ms. Cleage was delightful and I kept thinking at the time…she looks like some of my relatives (smile) and I’d love to be a writer like her. Well, after the reading, I had a chance to meet her and she autographed my copy of her book. She was lovely to me. The crowd wasn’t huge so I had time to talk with her briefly and she gave me the great advice to just keep writing and to tell the truth. That stuck with me and so I try to carry on in that vein. I would love to be a published author one day like her and all the others on this list…maybe one day (smile)
Anyway, I really enjoyed this meme. So now I will pass it on to all of you. Please consider yourself tagged if you would like to participate (smile) I’d love to see your lists.
We have a couple of them in common. I'll take a few days to put my list together and let you know when it's up :o)
ReplyDeleteDori- Thanks so much for your comment!! I was so excited to see that you are in England! I was just googling the other day on how I could move my family over there for a couple of years! How fun for you guys! Are you there for a long time? Are you liking it? Mwah! I have a lot of questions. If you have any resources that I could look into I would really appreciate it!!! BTW-Love your blog!
ReplyDeleteAwesome list! I see we have a lot of authors in common! I loved this meme because it gave me a chance to think back on books I read as a child/teen and the impact they had on me.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see your published works one day soon!!
Ah, so many of my own favorites. No wonder we visit each other:):)
ReplyDeleteI love Agatha Christie, Jane Austen and Eckhart Tolle...but my list would go on an on. Too many to mention!
ReplyDeleteInteresting list. We share quite a few favorites and I discovered some I did not know about and I can't wait to check out their books.
ReplyDeleteIvanhoe,
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see your list. I had a hard time cutting my list down :-) I kept coming up with new ones, but I was determined to stick to the 25.
Angela,
I love your blog too. Yes, I'm in England. I've been here for three years. My hubby is from here. It is a fun experience. It's similar here, but there's enough that's different to be intriguing. We will be here for the next good while. Of course, you never know what is around the corner :) That's the fun bit :) I have been enjoying it, especially when we get to go to somewhere I've always wanted to visit. I hope that you get the chance to come over and stay a while with your family. As for resources, the first ones that I would suggest would be the US Embassy site - American Citizen Services and a site called UK Yankee which is an expat forum. Here are the links:
US Embassy
UK Yankee
Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for commenting :)
Regina,
You're right, this meme was good to take your mind back and it was so much fun. It was like digging into the storage of my mind with the Carolyn Keene and Judy Blume books :) Thanks for tagging me with this one and for your support in my literary aspirations :)
Kala Pohl Studio,
I think you're right. We're on that same vibe :) Love, love, love your blog by the way.
Duni,
I'm the same. My list went on & on and I had to keep cutting it ;-) It's so hard to pick from so many great authors out there :)
Mountain Woman,
Glad you liked my list. I hope you enjoy the other authors that are new discoveries for you :)
You had some great authors on that list. I love many of them and many others as well.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! We have some in common, but you have some I've never read. I'll have to think about it...
ReplyDeleteMy list is ready and posted ;o)
ReplyDeleteDori, Thanks for the vote of confidence earlier this week. I don't know if you've checked my blog lately, but I made it. All essays are turned in. Thanks again for the support. Margaret
ReplyDeleteJust came across your blog. Haven't come across some of the writers on your list so will check them out. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Dori,
ReplyDeleteReturning the visit...so you're an aspiring author, too?...groovy! I'm a newbie reader AND writer, so I'm not sure if I could hit 25 faves yet, but this post gives me some excellent picks it seems.
I'll def be over to cheer you on this journey, and you don't be a stranger either, k? Take care...
I'll have to think about this one, not sure I can limit it to 25!
ReplyDeleteAs a book collector and avid reader, this post excites me. I would be hard pressed deciding my top 25, but I like a lot of yours. Good reading!
ReplyDeletepeace,
mike
livelife365
I love Mary Higgins Clark and Agatha Christie! What a fun list-will have to look up some of these!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to find that the joy of reading is shared by us all :-)
ReplyDelete