... ones by Carlos Casteneda, in that series of his. Quite enjoyable as well. Friend of mine was into them too. So I had somebody to discuss them with.
Hmmm. I find myself not thinking so much about My Life Being Changed (although if we count Indiana Jones, I think that's why I got an anthropology degree, because I assumed I would be given a cool hat and bullwhip upon graduation.*) but times when I've been seriously down and out and miserable and the stuff that pulled me through.
Yes fiction has changed my life. In a time when I was younger and not doing well emotionally fiction pulled me through and literally saved my life. Reading brought me out of the reality I was suffering. And writing? Whole new ballgame.
Yes fiction has changed my life. In a time when I was younger and not doing well emotionally fiction pulled me through and literally saved my life. Reading brought me out of the reality I was suffering. And writing? Whole new ballgame.
Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't Indiana Jones an archaeologist [and not a very good one, with all that stealing . . .]?
It's usually treated as a subset of anthropology (at least in some places.) You couldn't major in archaeology at my college--you took anthropology and all the archaeology related classes available in the department, and then the archaeology focus came in grad school if you lasted that long.
Actually, I thought physical anthro was much more interesting once I actually got there, but I'm not sure if Richard Leakey and the Jawbone of Doom is gonna hit the big screen any time soon.
"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord Of The Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."
Since that night, almost thirty years ago, I have been fortunate to have had two other such moments. One is now the beating heart of my current project.
I'm not sure about litterature but the fictitious worlds of Dungeons & Dragons very probably saved my life. I discovered the game while in high school, a place where I was bullied daily. I believe that if I did not have D&D, other games and books to escape to, I would not be here today.