5 Most Influential Books (so far)
Was tagged by @odangomoons, and it’s quite interesting. I’ve never really thought hard about it. It’s hard to list just five haha
1. Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Cliché, I know. Like my dad, I read this before Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (I think I read those in high school). I was given the complete Sherlock Holmes by my dad when I was in 2nd grade, it’s what officially started my journey through the fantastic world of books. For reasons unknown to me, my 7 year old mind really loved the book and the way it was written. For the longest time, my written English would be how Sherlock Holmes was written.
It’s one of the best science fiction books I’ve read. I actually haven’t met anyone who has read this and did not fall in love with it. I think other than the amazing world building, the politics of it all was just so interesting. We see two families, Atreides and Harkonnen, who completely dislike each other but are still participating in court niceties. Also, I think this is how I understood clandestine, under the table relationships. Like for real, this is how I was introduced to backstabbing, threats, secret deals, etc. (but of the political nature).
3. Seroks by David Hontiveros
Admittedly, this is the only Filipino Science Fiction (written in English) I’ve ever encountered and it’s so amazing! It’s about a parallel future when a virus was released to the world and most people became infertile. So everyone just put ethics and morals aside and decided that cloning is just the way to go. But like everything that is manufactured, there is always piracy. Pirated clones were rampant, and they were made to do hard labour. It’s a really amazing story to read, I really loved it.
4. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The first thing I thought of when I picked it up is “Magic, Fairies, and History!”, so I was obviously sold. But reading it I find the interactions between characters more interesting. I mean yeah the whole story itself is riveting, two will bring magic back to England and make it respectable; but how they interact with each other and how they relate with each other, intertwined with the Napoleonic wars, 19th Century England, magic ugh it’s amazing
5. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Another cliché entry, but I love this. As a kid of course I didn’t really much get the deeper meaning of each person he meets. But I love reading it again and again and just learning new things about it. It’s one of those books that will always, always leave you pondering about life and how we live our lives
Again, thank you very much for tagging me, I love it!
