When well-read parents own a lot of books–mine had several thousand or more–multiple ideas lurk on those shelves like landmines and/or philosopher’s stones waiting for curious kids to find. I found plenty. Whether or not I found these by my folks’ and mischievous spirits’ designs or by  coincidence when I was ready to read them, I don’t know except to say that I don’t believe in coincidences.

Both of my parents were high school student publications advisers and my dad was a college journalism dean and the author of journalism textbooks. So, I became a writer, a college journalism instructor, and an adviser for a college’s student newspaper. Like my father, I ultimately married one of my students. My father’s journalism school and my journalism program were both destroyed by politics, though our marriages endured.

My long-time interest in King Arthur and the Grail romances began when I found John Steinbeck’s posthumously published The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights on the shelf.  After discovering that book, I went on to read everything I could find about King Arthur who, strange as it may seem, actually appears in the genealogy of the Clan Campbell family in Scotland.

I’ve written often here about magic and ancient mysteries books, and without a doubt that interest began with James Allen’s 1903 book As a Man Thinketh. Over time, the beliefs in that book changed my life.

My favorite poet St.-John Perse came into my consciousness when I found a 1944 book published in English and French called Éloges and Other Poems. I remember my college English teacher who threw me out of class for disagreeing with him about the value of journalism, telling me, talk to me after you know about poets like St.-John Perse. I showed him a copy of this book at the next meeting of the class.  “This has been in my family since the year I was born. Any questions?” He wanted to buy the copy which I said belonged to my mother and was not for sale. Nonetheless, I was re-admitted to the class. I don’t deal well with know-it-all English teachers, especially those who say journalistic writing is bad writing.

Perhaps you remember finding some of your parents’ books that influenced your interests years later. I hope so. My parents and I disagreed about a lot of things, many of which stemmed from their books left out in the open on the family’s shelves. Ironic, I think.

I never really needed a library because all I could ever want was under my own roof–for better or worse.

–Malcolm