Category Archives: Books

Books

Neuromancer

Neuromancer (William Gibson, pub. 1984) was published when I was six years old, won a ton of awards, and put a lot of juice in the cyberpunk sub-genre. (All I know about cyberpunk I learned on Wikipedia, but basically I take it as a kind of sci-fi-noir that (usually?) incorporates lots of networky technology.)

I was drawn to the book for two reasons (I mean, aside from the fact that it’s a sci-fi novel. Duh.). First, I wanted something good. I don’t get to read sci-fi very often, so no time for garbage. Neuromancer was the first novel to win all three big sci-fi awards, and it’s on lots of “best of” lists, so it seemed promising. Second, I wanted something dystopian (More Blade Runner than Star Trek); I don’t know, maybe it’s a phase I’m in. Anyways, Neuromancer seemed to fit the bill on both counts.

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Books

Authors

Note: This was one of those social media lists that people do. It’s a great list, but I’m somewhat disconcerted to realize that eleven years later, my list is still largely the same. That the shape of my intellectual life has changed so little since my early 30s feels like it should be a red flag of some kind. (DL, Sept. 7, 20201)

The Rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors (poets included) who’ve influenced you and that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Briefly describe the nature of their influence.  

We’re looking for voices that have led you to consider new thoughts or significantly shaped your perspective on something.

I’m excluding biblical authors (like Paul), but there’s little doubt that the influence of the Bible on my life and thinking, both directly and filtered through other authors, has far surpassed all other influences combined.

In the order I thought of them, which probably means something.

  • J. R. R. Tolkien (the shape of my imagination and the products it produces)
  • C. S. Lewis (ditto)
  • Richard Halliburton (fostered a culturally outward focus rooted in world travel and history)
  • Andrew Sullivan (my disillusionment with all things Republican. Moving from Malkin to Sullivan as daily blog-reading has had significant influence)
  • Michael Behe (demonstrating to me Darwin’s failure to explain the origins of life)
  • Alan Keyes (shaped my perspective on politics and the trouble with the American republic)
  • Frederick Wheelock (taught me Latin and how to teach Latin)
  • David Macaulay (helped me visualize the past and present)
  • Edmund Spenser (profound professional influence. The existence of Edmund Spenser’s writings have literally changed my course in life, for good and ill. Very strong influence on my conception of good poetry.)
  • Tom Clancy (helped me understand what modern war and nuclear terrorism look like)
  • John Bunyan (how I conceptualize the Christian life)
  • Hannah Whitall Smith (Wow. Still trying to wrap my head around what happened there. Pretty sure it wasn’t good.)
  • Harry Berger (definitively showed me that all those godless pagan literary critics I heard about at Bob Jones can be godless pagan stinking geniuses. Helped me understand what being a Ph.D. in English lit is all about.)
  • Fanny Crosby, Isaac Watts, and Charles Wesley. (different authors, same book. 🙂 My conception of what Christian music can be.)
  • Epic poets, especially Milton, the aforementioned Spenser, and the Beowulf author. (I cheated, I know. Sue me. My conception of what poetry is, or used to be, capable of) 
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