Submitted by: Julie Buckingham
Generally, what inspires you to read?
I’m a creative writing major, which I guess means that people expect me to read, but when I’m at school I really don’t read much outside the required readings. When I do read (usually during the summer), it’s for enjoyment and also for furthering myself as a writer. When I read a book, I’m thinking about what the author did to make it a good book and in what ways I can make my own writing appealing to readers. I think a book that inspires a person the most is a book that a person can go back to and read several times, each time gaining something new from the experience of reading.
When did you first read White Oleander?
high school
How did you come to read this book?
I found this book at my town’s library. They have a book sale every year, and paperbacks are only 50 cents, so I usually get a lot of them. (Some of them I read, some of them just stay on my bookshelf at home.) I found this book, and I’d heard of it because it had been turned into a movie. I never saw the movie, but I was curious to read it.
Why has this book inspired you the most?
I think the reason this book has influenced me the most is because it affected how I think about writing. It helps me to see the possibilities of writing- the way you can use language and bend and twist language in fascinating ways. It also helps me to see the purpose of writing, which for me is to get at genuine human emotion.
In reading this book, how has your life been influenced or changed?
It has been influential in how I read and write. It’s hard for me to pick a “most influential” book, because there’s lots of books that I think have affected me, but I think this one stands out the most because it was one of the first books I read when I realized I wanted to be a writer. This book was different for me.
