Above you: Wizard Island!

I'm an old fart. Relatively. Born in the Pacific Northwest, I was able to spend plenty of time outside. But not too much. I also liked to spend time indoors. Yes, I DID spend a lot of time in front of the TV, but I also liked to read. I read a ton. Adams, Heinlen, Niven, McCaffrey, Donaldson, and many others. (The Sword of Shannara comes to mind, as does Darkover.) Tolkien on the other hand...I read LOTR on a cross country trip (Travel Trailer) when I was 12. Wow. Now don't get me wrong. I love all of the others too, but Tolkien brought something even more magical to life. It was one of those nice long escapes from reality that I didn't realize I really needed. Need.