For me, it was Roots. Alex Haley’s masterpiece is the book that introduced the power of storytelling to me as a teenager. Shortly thereafter, it was Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. They both rocked my world.
Today, I enjoyed breakfast with Elizabeth Evans, a literary agent with Reece Halsey North, and I asked her about what we have come to call The Book, and she admitted for her it was The Power of One by none other than Bryce Courtenay. Bryce is the white-haired, quirky, marathon-running, bird-calling, monkey-suit-wearing man from Friday night’s opening ceremonies. Elizabeth shared that she and a girlfriend loved the book so much when she read it at 14 that the two girlfriends would read passages to each other over the phone. I admitted to her that I had never read her the book, but after hearing Bryce speak and watching his performance, I am now inspired to read it. So, I am making another trip to the bookstore.
As of this moment, I have managed to control myself. I have only purchased:
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The Geography of Love by Glenda Burgess
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The Writer’s Book of Wisdom by Steven Taylor Goldsberry
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The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
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Turning Life into Fiction by Robin Hemley