I Love the Chronicles of Narnia

@SW-User

I would suggest that rather than being memorized, that the stories were imprinted on your soul or your essence. I know they were/have been on mine.

I don't know whether you knew that both Tolkien and Lewis were contemporary Oxford dons and were fellow members of a group there called "The Inklings".

If you haven't read any Tolkien, both "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Ring" series are also excellent (though Tolkien can be a bit verbose at times) - as is the three book Perelandra series by Lewis.

Another great author in the same genre is Joy Chant. She is also British, and her first book in a three book Vandarei series is "Red Moon and Black Mountain." It is also an excellent and suggested read. The second book, "The Gray Mane of Morning" is also good, but not quite up to the level of the first book. The third book, "When Voila Wakes" was a bit of a disappointment, however.

Though the three books are part of a series, each are complete in and of themselves, and can be enjoyed by themselves.

Best wishes for your reading!

Quakertrucker

@Quakertrucker I haven't read Joy Chant, but I will look her up. I am a huge bookworm, so recommendations are always welcome.

@SW-User

Give me some recommendations, and I will give you some - at least in general terms of authors.

I have posted comments to groups for several authors - including Ken Kesey, Jack Kerouac, George Orwell, Charles Bukowski, Tom Robbins, Kurt Vonnegut - and would recommend any book by any of them.

Kerouac was the lead bard and troubadour of the "Beat Generation" and I would also recommend any book by any of the Beat writers - Allen Ginsburg, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, among many others! If you are interested, Ann Charters wrote the definitive book on Kerouac, and ties all of his Beat colleagues into the characters in his books, such as "On the Road" or "Dharma Bums".

George Orwell is also a great writer. Most semiliterate Americans know of two of his books - "Animal Farm" and "Nineteen Eighty-Four" - but he had many other wonderful books: "The Road to Wigan Pier", "Homage to Catalonia", "Clergyman's Daughter", "Burmese Days", and my personal favorite - "Down and Out in Paris and London" among many others.

I have always read. When I was in elementary school - third grade and up, anyway - I was reading Jules Verne, Robert Heinlein, Arthur Clarke, Issac Asimov and any other science fiction book I could find.

I loved Edgar Rice Burroughs and his "Tarzan", "Center of the Earth", "Mars", and "Venus" series. I read under the covers for hours at night.

I read all the time - day and night. I read the authors that I loved, and then other authors that I found through them, ... , ad infonitum.

Unfortunately, there was often little correlation between what I found and loved and read, and what the teachers wanted me to read.

Dickens was great, but I wanted to read the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Conan Arthur Doyle. Dostoyevsky was fantastic, but they wanted me to read some crap, "Tess of the d'Ubervilles", by Hardy.

Anyway, to make a long story somewhat short. I read what I wanted and not what they felt was best. Their shit was on the exams, not mine, so I failed the seventh grade.

I learned to skim the crap - not all of their suggestions were bad, e. g. Shakespeare - first; then to read my found literature for fun.

It got me through undergrad; teaching high school at an American school in San Jose, Costa Rica for two years; and into law school.

Of course, if Montessori had existed when I was young, and my parents were willing, I needn't have failed any grade. Oh well, you got to roll with the punches.

Oh by the way, I just though of another suggestion - who I also did a post for - David Sadaris. He is droll and funny and witty - and down to Earth. My wife met him and spoke with him at a reading at George Washington University in DC.

So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it; and some of my recommendations.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Bibliophiles are a dying breed! I don't even know how someone can read on a Kindle! I want to be able to hold the pages of the magazine or book; I want to be able to easily jump forward or back as my soul demands; I want to feel the texture of the pages in my hand!

Good reading!

Quakertrucker