Another one-volume collection of #thebooksthatmademe — Susan Cooper’s five-book THE DARK IS RISING sequence. . The first time I read these books at 13, I wasn’t sure how to feel about many of them. The pacing seemed slow, the atmosphere a bit creepy, and the magic felt more pagan and/or humanistic than I was comfortable with. Plus the books’ treatment of Christianity ranged from patronizing (ie. the church scene in THE DARK IS RISING) to outright dismissive (Merriman’s “You may not lie idly expecting the second coming of anybody now” in SILVER ON THE TREE), which I didn’t care for at all. . That being said, though, I have a lifelong fascination with Arthuriana in general and the character of Merlin in particular, so I was drawn in by that aspect of the story. I also developed a bit of a tween crush on both Will Stanton and Bran Davies. And the fourth book, THE GREY KING, sparked a deep fascination with Wales and the Welsh language that has lingered with me ever since. . It would be another ten years before I got the chance to visit northern Wales and see the rugged beauty of Snowdonia for myself, but Susan Cooper’s rich descriptions made me feel like I’d already been there. And when I wrote my second book REBEL in 2009, I was immediately drawn to Welsh folklore as a way of further deepening and expanding my faery world — which gave me the perfect excuse to go back to Wales with my husband on our 10th anniversary, and take the same journey my young protagonists were taking in the book. It turned out to be quite an adventure, but a wonderful one! I’d love to go back to Wales someday. . TELL ME: Have you ever been inspired to travel to a place you’ve read about in a book? Did it live up to your expectations? . . . #susancooper #thedarkisrising #thedarkisrisingsequence #thegreyking #bookstagram #books #bibliophile #igreads #bookish #booklover #booknerd #reading #readingaddict #mybookfeatures #alwaysreading #ilovereading #booksofinstagram #writinginfluences https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xdcbEACTE/?igshid=60mxc9nhhc6l
