{Guest Post} Jon Skovron + Giveaway

 

We are so lucky to have Jon Skovron with us today, guest posting as part of his Blog Tour with The {Teen} Book Scene. Many of you will remember I reviewed his book Misfit back in May and really enjoyed it!

Jon’s going to take over here in a minute and tell us what his past self would recommend for reading at that age, but before I hand over the reigns I want to make sure you all stop in at the bottom and enter for a chance to win an ARC of Misfit, and of course look for it on book shelves now as it dropped on August 1st

                                                                                                                           

What books would your past self recommend at the ages: 

Age 5
I was all about Dr Seuss books and Spider-man comics! Dr. Seuss taught me about creative play (Cat in the Hat), environmentalism (The Lorax), racial equality and environmentalism (The Sneeches and Other Stories), and the artist's journey (Oh The Places You'll Go!). Spider-man taught me about responsibility, courage, and the importance of cracking jokes in even the most dire situations.

Age 11
I had just discovered that I liked reading books without pictures and I suddenly could not get enough. I read a 300-400 page novel, most of the high fantasy or science fiction, a week all through middle school. My three favorites where the Xanth series, by Piers Anthony, which introduced me to just about every creature of myth and folklore in existence, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books by Douglas Adams, which had a profound impact on my sense of humor, for better or for worse, and The Belgariad by David Eddings, which for all it's far flung high fantasy, was always grounded in the character relationships.

Age 16
I was deep into the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles books. In fact I went through a period where I wanted to be Lestat so much I actually dressed like him. I had longish blond hair back then, so it made a little more sense. This was, of course, when I wasn't dressing like Robert Smith from The Cure. I was branching out into *ahem* literary fiction like The Stranger by Albert Camus, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. I was also doing theater, so I was reading a lot of plays, everything from classics like Midsummers Night's Dream by Shakespeare to modern comedic farces like Noises Off! by Michael Frayn.

Age 20
I was studying theater at a conservatory program, so I was reading plays all the time. Some of my favorites were True West by Sam Shepard, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, Betrayal by Harold Pinter, Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov, and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. I was also really into Tom Robbins books. I think Skinny Legs and All can be blamed for most of my college misadventures. I was also just starting to get back into more "serious" speculative fiction with books like The Wind-up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. These turned out to be a gateway back to the genre fiction I came from, where I discovered that people like China Mieville, Cory Doctorow, William Gibson, Kelly Link, Charles Stross, and so many others had been doing incredible work the whole time that I had been lost in the theater world. It was this discovery, in part, that led me back to writing.
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Want a Chance at that ARC of Misfit?

Only requirement to enter is you be a Follower of my Blog here – rafflecopter will do the rest: Enter here