15 Writers Who Have Influenced Me

Just the other day I was posting about my reading list for the new year, so it’s only fitting to follow through with Resident on Earth‘s challenge to take 15 minutes to list 15 authors who have had the most impact on my life.  I’ll admit to being totally dependent on browsing back through my Goodreads updates to jar my memory, but I guess that’s kind of the point of having a Goodreads account, isn’t it?

In any case, here are the authors that have left their mark on me, in (maybe) 15 minutes or less:

  1. Salman Rushdie
  2. Arundhati Roy
  3. Paul Farmer
  4. Kate Chopin
  5. Jonathan Safran Foer
  6. Kurt Vonnegut
  7. Jared Diamond
  8. Orhan Pamuk
  9. Zora Neale Hurston
  10. Judy Blume
  11. Jane Austen
  12. Beverly Cleary
  13. Randy Shilts
  14. Jean-Dominique Bauby
  15. Carson McCullers

And what about you?  Which authors have influenced you in a lasting way?  I’m curious!

P.S. For the curious, I also did a 15 books in 15 minutes challenge a couple years ago, which features many of the same authors listed here.

5 comments

  1. Jen says:

    Great list! You’ve given me some new authors to check out. I had Carson McCullers on my list initially, but then she got nudged out. And Beverly Cleary – I had almost forgotten about her, but yes, those books were also my faves. :-)

  2. I loved that you had Laura Ingalls Wilder on your list — I also read her entire series like a million times growing up. Brings back great memories of childhood, actually. Anyway, thanks for the tag — it was a fun challenge!

  3. Traci says:

    I agree with Jane Austen; she’s certainly on my top list. I also enjoy Barbara Kingsolver (Poisonwood Bible); her lifestyle is very inspirational, which is reflected in her writing.

  4. Traci: I agree with Barbara Kingsolver, Poinsonwood Bible is also a fave of mine — although I can’t say I’ve read anything else of hers.
    Paul: Thanks for your comment. I loved the Satanic Verses, and Midnight’s Children even more so. You have a great blog, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the book!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.