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Originally Posted by nekokami
The only science fiction I think my parents had was 1984. But my mother was a reader, so there were certainly plenty of books around. (My father didn't read much-- a fact I never noticed as a kid! But he was an engineer and taught me all sorts of useful stuff about science, as well as making sure I saw the classic SF films.) I found SF by being intrigued by two Heinlein books at a school book fair ( Between Planets and Space Cadet, I think.) Prior to that I'd read Ben Bova's End of Exile, borrowed from a library while visiting a relative in a different state, but I don't think I really knew that there was a whole category of SF at that point. But the two Heinlein books really gave me a shove in the SF direction. I attribute my decision to major in physics in college largely to reading Heinlein. (And I blame Tolkein for my decision to switch to linguistics mid-stream.  ) |
There were lots of other books around the house besides SF. By the time I was old enough to be aware of such things. Dad's reading had dwindled to several newspapers (though I did once see him reading a pornographic novel). Mom read voarciously, and read
to me, which is how I suspect I picked up the habit.
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Looking back, I think Heinlein ended up providing the basis for some of those unspoken assumptions we've been talking about, but I have to say I've been deconstructing and in some cases discarding some of those over the years, too. I think that would please him. 
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I concur. A lot of Heinlein's writing can be analyzed as him systematically analyzing the assumptions he was raised with and asking "Does this make sense?" I think he'd be pleased to see others doing so, and not fussy about whether their answers matched his. What is important is not the answer: it's that you ask the question.
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Dennis