Today, April 1, marks the centennial of of the birth of Anne McCaffery (1926-2011).

I’ve been thinking about her books lately. More on that below.

I first became aware of Anne McCaffery when I was either in sixth grade or going into seventh grade. I had just started reading adult science fiction, mostlly whata I found at Wladenbooks at the mall or the flea market. I’d pretty much burned through what little science fiction was in the elementary school library.

What caught my eye was a book entiitled Dinosaur Planet. A whole planet with dinsoaurs? I’m in.

I had to wait five years or so for the sequel, which I found disappointing compared to the first book, but then five years is a lot in the emnatl and emotional development of a teenager.

After reading Dinosaur Planet, I read the first two Pern books. This was in seventh grade. I’m not sure I was quite ready for them.  The White Dragon had just been released in paperback recently, but I never go to that one. I’m not sure why.

Anyway, other than “Rescue Run” ad the second dinosaur book, I didn’t read any McCaffery.

Fast forward to a few years ago. I would hit the monthly Friends of the Library sale when I still lived in Lubbock. I picked up a number of her books in grab bags. Not just Pern, either, but some other series, as well.

I’ve been thinking a lot over the last few months about books I either read when I was young or saw a lot but never got around to reading.

I’ve been thinking of giving Pern another try.

Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. Readin time is pretty limited right now.

I enjoyed “Rescue Run” when I read it a fw years ago. I’m sure I’d bring a totally different perspective to Pern these days. For one thing, I’m sure there were nuances to a lot of the things I read as a teenager that I missed. And that statement goes beyond Pern.

Regardless of whether I give Pern another try at some point later in the year, I’ll raise a glass later to Anne McCaffery’s memory. She was a major writer whose impact on the field is still being felt.