A tribute to the authors who influence us

Up until I was well past what can be considered a “teenager,” I preferred to browse the Young Adult section at the library. Adult books all seemed too dry and serious, as though to qualify for being in the ‘adult’ section you were required to leave all your humor and sense of fun behind.

Then one day as I was walking past an adult rack on my way to the YA books, one book’s cover caught my eye. It was called Maskerade and it started like this:

Image from Amazon

Even if you haven’t read that particular book, you might recognize the writing style. Maskerade is book 18 in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, and before the end of that year I head read at least five more.

Last month we lost a brilliant writer who could filter any serious issue through his vivid world, and show just how ridiculous everything is.

Terry Pratchett showed me that some authors don’t lose their sense of fun. Thanks to that first book, I went on to discover Neil Gaiman, Robert Asprin, Douglas Adams, and finally moved on from the YA section. The humor of these authors served as a bridge for me, helped me discover how wonderful books can be even when they’re not “light.”

I can’t think of any other author who stayed in my heart for so long, or who was as influential in growing my appetite for books of all kinds. I’d like to join millions of voices worldwide in saying thank you, Terry Pratchett. I hope Death is as nice of a guy as you said he is.

Some books stay with us for years. Some change the way we see the world. What authors have influenced you over the years?

Yuliya

Yuliya handles marketing and writing at QuestForge, and is the self-appointed chief of keeping Chris sane (despite Chris's insistence that he is the sane one).