One of the benefits of having parents that like to read is the number and type of books that were available when I discovered I enjoyed reading.
In that sense, my parents were very open regarding which books I could read. Everything available. There were no hidden books in the house. If it was there, it could be read. At the time, my parents were really fond of Irving Wallace and Taylor Cadwell (I remember reading Wallace with some concerns because of the “sex activity” descripted in those books, now I find it funny).
Then, I moved to Guadalajara with my uncle and aunt (*). My uncle has a HUGE library of Science Fiction. One of his collections was a 40 tome anthology of Science Fiction (Ed. Bruguera by theme; racism, fantasy, humor, fugitives, heroes, etc.). I had the opportunity to read Asimov, Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Silverberg, Zelazny, Poul Andersen, Gordon R. Dickson, Harlan Ellison, George R. R. Martin, James Tiptree Jr., Ursula K. LeGuin, and many more. I LOVED IT!. My infatuation with Sci-Fi started there.
From it, I developed an interest on fantasy/terror (Fritz Leiber, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft (**), Robert Bloch, Stephen King, etc.); and then I rediscovered Paco Ignacio Taibo II. I had read “No habra final feliz” (No happy ending); when I was in Jr. High School, somebody lent the book to my dad and I took advantage and read it; I could not stop reading it, and later look for it but did not remember the author, only the character (Hector Belascoaran Shayne); so when in 1987 the FIL (Feria Internacional del Libro; International Book Fair) started in Guadalajara, I started attending. In 1990 Taibo was there to introduce some new books (I think “Cuatro Manos/Four Hands” and "Sueños de Frontera", "Amorosos Fantasmas" and "Desvanecidos Difuntos") and I was there during a conversation when he explained why Belascoaran was an Engineer working in a “maquiladora” before he decided to be a detective (private eye). Getting to know him and starting to buy almost every book he had wrote was the same thing.
From Taibo I got the Mystery/Thriller love going; that got developed when I moved to Tijuana and started buying books in English (I had some from Guadalajara, and I was used to read them in English; but they were really expensive there). I stopped buying books for a while (and stopped attending the FIL from 1996 to 2003) until finally restarted my commitment and started reading Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, and then (because I bought some books in Spanish that were on sale) Terry Pratchett.
So far I have been enjoying the ride. However these days I have been listing my books I have found more than 100 books I have not read; some of them are in “mint” condition. Shame on me! I will fix this (hopefully), before buying more books.
See you around.
(*) One of the first books that I started to read in Guadalajara was “La clave esta en Rebecca” (Ken Follet); and my uncle told me the book may not be suitable for me (I was 17 at the time) because of the sex written on it. Later on I discovered he had several of Xaviera Hollander’s books. REALLY INTERESTING!!!
(**) My father had this very old book with stories based on H.P. Lovecraft "universe" and one of the stories was called "El Guardallaves"; the book has several missing pages and I never got to finish the story. Even now I do not know the author or the original name of the story; if it rings a bell; please, please help me!!!
P.S. I forgot to mention that during 1991 to 1994 I also bought a lot of books of Erotica; under one collection from Alcor (“La fuente de Jade”). [Maybe I am ashamed of mentioning this].
He’s Baaaack!
2 days ago
4 comments:
It's amazing how you can tolerate Stephen King after reading Edgar Allan Poe.
Well... I guess I can tolerate a lot of shit. Not proud of it, but that's that.
I've always read because of the stories (in general); if it is a good story I will enjoy it from the beginning to the end. A bad story will keep me away from finishing a book. But IMHO a good writer will help you to get there; and it will make you want to return. There are many books (and authors) I've read repeatedly over the years and there are other many I've only read once or never (like Garcia Marquez; who I've read sparingly).
What can I say, I am more of a "steady Eddie" instead of passionate. It can be a disadvantage with the friends I have (and had) and to myself (since I do not get to experience the full range of like/dislike for anything) but I am working on it! That should count for something!!
my comment was never intended to patronize or to think any less of you, even though it came out or it reads that way. i actually thought "the green mile" and the short story collection "different seasons" were two decent ones by King, but i suppose what i REALLY meant was an indictment of King himself as a writer. i do realize he's the most popular of his genre, perhaps in history, but i find his horror a bit hokey. for example, i had seen Kubrick's interpretation of "The Shining" years before I read King's original. I had heard that King hated what Kubrick did to it, so I decided to see for myself. The book, IMHO, was atrocious! Hokey stuff, topiary animals coming to life, ghosts, etc. What Kubrick did, I thought, was brilliant. He incorporated the descent into madness by Torrance into his universal, unifying theme--which he always explored with his films: the dehumanization of man in a modern world. 2001 and Clockwork Orange work extremely well, even Full Metal Jacket and the duality of Private Joker; a peace-loving warrior. Anyway, back to my comment...I think I hold writers too responsible for following up on their brethren. For me, if you are going to be a horror writer, you have to sort of hold up the bar and look at the likes of Poe and what he did. But then, of course, the stuff wouldn't sell, would it. I am not a sci-fi fan, but the limited sci-fi I read is written by the likes of Stanislaw Lem or Phillip K. Dick--writers who had a bit more to say via sci-fi. So...in the end, apologies if I've offended. Certainly didn't mean to.
apology not accepted; since there was no offense. Come to think of it, your comment reads a little patronizing; but that was not an issue.
What really got me worried was my reaction to it; which is precisely one of the things I want to fix in my life. I don't need to get offended (for one) neither try to change or rewrite my opinions so my friends like me.
So, before we turn this post into a Mexican version of a couple of posts on will and maria's let's call it a good discussion and that's it.
if I ever feel offended I will come straight and tell you. I appreciate your comments; keep them coming.
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