Authors and literary influences

It's hard not to notice Richard Branson. The man is jovial, street-smart, and has a knack for knowing how to grab people's attention with his hilariously entertaining marketing tactics. But apart from his business sense, he is also very well noted for his philanthropy and dedicated to raising awareness for a number of charitable ecological and humanitarian causes. So when I started researching some of influences, I was very interested to see how all of this is reflected in Branson's reading material of choice.

The first thing that stands out is that he is very big on non-fiction - I'd go as far as to say almost exclusively so. Of his favourite reads, the most impressive perhaps is "Long Walk to Freedom", an autobiography by Nelson Mandela, of whom Branson says is "one of the most inspiring men I have ever met and had the honour to call my friend". Al Gore's enviro bestseller, "An Inconvenient Truth" also features high up, as well as James Lovelock's "Gaia" series on the Earth, its climate and enviroment. There are a few other faves, such as Jung Chang and Harriet Beecher Stowe, as mentioned in Branson's book. And as a testament to his sense of humour, let's not forget Stephen Colbert's political satire based on his TV show, "I Am America (And So Can You!)".
(Ref: http://www.infloox.com/person?id=7bb9503d)

Since the section on Michelle Obama's favourite reads was such a hit, I thought I'd post one on Hillary Clinton as well. Political figures are so often placed on a pedestal of sorts, far out of reach from the public. It's always interesting to find out what's behind the suits.

Starting from her earliest days, Clinton fondly remembers the beloved classic, "Goodnight Moon" as one of her childhood favourites. Growing up, the idealogy of politics was ingrained in her from an early age. In her own book, Clinton wrote that "my ninth-grade history teacher, Paul Carlson%u2026 encouraged me to read Senator's Barry Goldwater's [at the time] recently published book, The Conscience of a Conservative".

Through her university years, literature featured heavily on Clinton's reading list, ranging from George Eliot to E.E. Cummings and Dostoyevsky. As a student at Yale Law, Clinton traded favourite books and authors with Bill Clinton, who was her boyfriend at the time. One that she remembers was Edmund Wilson's novel, "To the Finland Station". Of this book, she said, "Bill spent most of his time reading and then sharing with me his thoughts about books like 'To the Finland Station'"

Do you know of any other great books favoured by Hillary Clinton? If so, add it to her infloox page!

When we think of literary analysis today, most people would reach back for the literary giants of the past - Shakespeare, Dickens, Wordsworth and the like. But what about today's popular authors? What would you find if you analysed them?

Take for example, a couple of the top two best-sellers: Michael Crichton (R.I.P.) and Stephen King. We might be tempted to think that they simply exist in a very modern realm... until you learn of their inspirations, that is! In the case of Crichton, a large part of his influences goes back to his younger days of boyhood, with Mark Twain and Arthur Conan Doyle topping the list. True marks of good story-telling. Throw in Alfred Hitchcock, George Orwell and Crichton's good friend, Steven Spielberg, and you can start to see how that cinematic thread starts to weave itself through virtually all of his works.

On the other hand, we have Stephen King. His long, sprawling manuscripts reflect the massive epic influences that he draws from. His long, sprawling manuscripts reflect the massive epic influences that he draws from. Lovecraft, Tolkien and Golding. Need I say more? And then in a complete twist, here comes the modern part: it appears that King is not only completely immersed in tomes of the past. He is apparently very much up to date with current writing. Even, I dare say, books for younger readers. He had this to say about a certain Harry Potter:
"The miracle of the Harry Potter series is that it keeps getting better. The genius of Ms. Rowling was her decision (probably never even seriously considered at the time) to follow Harry through his schooling. As a result, Harry's fans have never left him behind. The question is whether Ms.Rowling will be bound to him for life, as Arthur Conan Doyle was bound to Sherlock Holmes."
(reference article)

The whole world is buzzing with news of the Swedish Academy's latest pick for the Nobel Literature Prize, but as most have discovered, the winner, Herta Muller, is barely known in the English-speaking world.

Since most news articles have already done a good job of covering the basic facts, I thought I'd give some more insight into her literary influences and her background as a writer.

In university, Muller studied Romanian and German literature, and has talked publicly about how that has influenced her writing - more so Romanian folklore due to the nuances of the language.

Muller had originally joined a German-speaking literary group in Romanian, who fought for freedom of speech and lack of censorship. This influence is evidenced in her later writings where she blatantly criticises the Romanian dictatorship, which eventually led to her being banned from publishing there.

Her husband, Richard Wagner, should also be credited as a literary influence. Like Muller, Wagner studied Romanian and German literature at the same university, and then went on to become a writer and poet. Along the way, both of them also taught German as a second language, and later fled to Germany after various incidents with the Romanian secret police.

For more details on Herta Muller, visit http://www.infloox.com/person?id=4da75d24

In a relatively short period of time, Dan Brown has managed to create waves of controversy with each book he publishes. Despite this, he consistently tops the bestseller lists and has created a massive cult following. But have you ever wondered how he got his start in writing?

Originally starting out as English teacher, Brown was vacationing in Tahiti, when he picked up a Sidney Sheldon novel called "The Doomsday Conspiracy". Reading through, he realised, "Hey, I can do that!" As soon as he returned home, he started working on his first novel, Digital Fortress. Thus began his extremely successful life as a professional novelist.

Amongst his other favourite literary influences and authors, Brown lists Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Harlen Coben (through a personal connection), and unsurprisingly, Robert Ludlum's "Bourne" series. (ref: http://www.infloox.com/person?id=17de7d0)

The Obamas have proved to be voracious readers - such that some publications have even gone so far as to put them on par with Oprah where influence on book sales is concerned. Michelle Obama does readings to pre-schoolers and youngsters, picking from her favourite childrens' books including Life of Pi, The Cat in the Hat, Where the Wild Things Are, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? , Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Olivia and various others. It's wonderful to see someone of that stature taking the time in person to encourage literacy and the development of a good reading habit. For more on Obama, have a look at her Infloox page

With all the buzz surrounding Harry Potter and the most recent movie release, I thought I'd post a few of Rowling's favourite books to see what molded her imagination over the years. (As I type there, there is another ad for the new HP movie on tv!) :)

#1. "Ballet Shoes" by Mary Noel Streatfeild
A chronicle of the lives of three sisters that follows then into their teenage years. One of Rowling's favourites as a child!

#2. "Manx Mouse" by Paul Gallico
The adventures of a tail-less ceramic mouse who magically comes to life one night.

#3. "Emma" by Jane Austen
Humourous Victorian novel of a group of people's romantic misadventures.
Rowling once mention, "Emma has the merit of having a heroine who annoys me because she is in some ways so like me, and it is the most skilfully managed mystery I've ever read."

#4. Roddy Doyle (author)
"Roddy Doyle is my favourite living writer. I love his work for many of the same reasons I like Jane Austen's." - J.K. Rowling

#5. "The Iliad" by Homer
Of the epic Greek poem, Rowling admits, "Saving Cedric's body reminded me of the Hector Patroclus Achilles triangle in the ''Iliad.'' - That's where it came from. That really, really, REALLY moved me when I read that when I was 19."

(References: http://www.infloox.com/person?id=5016a966)