The Bookworm Speaks

I am taking up this tag from Upasna...

The rules are: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors, poets included, who've influenced you and will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

I thought it was going to be really easy and turns out, I was right! I did not have much difficulty in coming up with this list. Well, here is my list of favorite authors (not in any particular order):

1. Enid Blyton: I grew up reading her books. I loved reading the 'Famous Five' series, the 'Mystery' series, 'The Naughtiest Girl', the 'Secret Seven', the 'Adventure' series and her school-stories of St. Clare's and Malory Towers. Her books made me want to go to boarding school so that I could have the same amount of fun and her short stories gave wings to my imagination - I hoped that one day, I, too, would get a Wishing Chair or manage to discover the Faraway Tree! I did believe that toys come alive at night and I think I had a fabulous childhood, a lot, because of her!
2. Pablo Neruda: I love most of his poems!
3. Charles Dickens: 'A Tale Of Two Cities' is my favorite all-time classic.
   "IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
4. William Shakespeare: I have read almost all his works. I love all his sonnets and most of his plays. "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Macbeth" and "Tempest" are my favorite works by him.
   "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
    - Prospero, 'The Tempest'.
5. George Orwell: I loved his work, 'The Animal Farm'.
   "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
   BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS."
6. Bill Watterson: I don't know if he qualifies but I love 'Calvin and Hobbes' - the comic strip and can read them over and over again! Calvin reminds me that I should always keep the child in me alive!
7. Karl Marx: I am not a communist but I am deeply inspired by a lot of things he wrote, especially his views on religion: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."
8. Paulo Coelho: 'Veronica Decides To Die' and 'The Alchemist' completely floored me! 
9. Erich Segal: I have loved all his books. "Doctors" and "The Class" are my favorites. It surprises most people though when I tell them that "Love Story" is not his best work, in my opinion!
10. Harper Lee: I loved reading "To Kill A Mockingbird" - I enjoyed reading the tale being told by a small girl (Scout) and Atticus Finch was a hero in my opinion! I seriously recommend this book to everyone who has not had a chance to read it!
11. J.K. Rowling: I became a fan of Harry Potter from the very first book itself! And after each book, the story just kept getting better and better (and the movies started getting from bad to worse)! I am passionately in love with the magical world of Hogwarts!
12.  Khaled Hosseini: I remember reading 'The Kite-Runner' on a flight and crying my heart out! My co-passenger actually asked me if something was wrong! Ha! Ha! I think it is a wonderful story. His second book 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' also is an amazing piece of work!
13. Mark Twain: As a kid, I enjoyed reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" but I think "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a much better work!
14. Roald Dahl: Again, he was one of my favorites! I loved reading most of his stories. My favorite is "Matilda". 
15. Rudyard Kipling: I loved "The Jungle Book" and his poem, "If".

Well, this is my list. I took more than fifteen minutes to come up with this - but that was because I had too many authors in mind and I was not really sure who among them were more deserving to be a part of this prestigious list of fifteen only! Anyone who loves reading books is welcome to take up this tag! I would love to read your list!