5 books have held Terry O'Reilly 'under their influence'
For 20 years Under the Influence host Terry O'Reilly has been a voracious reader, as well as a writer, radio host and speaker.
O'Reilly usually has three to four reads on the go at a time and has a personal library of hundreds of books. Throughout the course of his life books have helped guide him and shape his outlook on the world.
He spoke to The Next Chapter's Antonio Michael Downing about the books that have stayed with him over the years.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Harper Lee's seminal novel To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most widely known and celebrated books of the 20th century. To Kill a Mockingbird has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and remains a fixture on school reading lists and won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize. The book is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the 1930s American South. Told through the eyes of a young girl named Scout whose father Atticus Finch risks it all to defend a Black man accused of a crime he didn't commit.
Harper Lee was an American author from Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird remained the only book of her career until she published a sequel called Go Set a Watchman in 2015. Lee died in 2016 at the age of 89.
Terry O'Reilly says: It's hard to think of a more classic example of American literature, but over time it's fallen out of favour. It's also one of the more banned books out there because of the narrative of Atticus being a 'white saviour' and the copious dropping of the N-bomb.
It's hard to think of a more classic example of American literature- Terry O'Reilly
I just love it as a as a story. The storytelling is so wonderful. The fact that Harper Lee chose to tell that story through the eyes of children, I thought was an interesting choice she made and really how they feared Boo Radley so much and then he ends up saving their lives is such an interesting theme that sometimes our biggest fears can actually save us.
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
Fifth Business is a novel that tells the story of how one unassuming childhood incident sends a ripple effect throughout various people's lives, changing them forever.
Robertson Davies was a Canadian novelist, journalist and professor. He was the literary editor of Saturday Night and a few years later became an editor at the Peterborough Examiner. He was made a companion of the Order of Canada. He was a founding master of Massey College at the University of Toronto. He died in December 1995.
Terry O'Reilly says: In the book, Fifth Business is defined as a character who is not the hero or the villain of a story, but who is essential in the telling of the story. Dunston Ramsey who's telling this story really kind of feels like an observer of his life, not a participant in his life. And I thought that was such an interesting theme.
Taken at the Flood by John Gunther
Taken at the Flood is the biography of American businessman Albert Lasker, who was an important figure in the world of advertising.
John Gunther was an American writer and journalist. His books include Inside U.S.A. and the memoir Death Be Not Proud. He died of liver cancer in 1970.
Terry O'Reilly says: When I was starting my career, I was trying to get a job as an ad writer in advertising agencies in Toronto. It's very hard to break in when you're green and have no track record. So I would sit in the library and read all the books on advertising that I could find in there. And one of the books I read, so this would be 1981, was called Taken at the Flood by an author named John Gunther.
Albert Lasker really fundamentally changed the advertising business for all time, and I thought it was fascinating.- Terry O'Reilly
Why I found this so fascinating was that Albert Lasker has been lost in history. Like advertising has its icons, has its Titans of industry like David Ogilvy and Bill Bernbach. They're the ones that built these big agencies that people still write and talk about.
Yet Albert Lasker really fundamentally changed the advertising business for all time, and I thought it was fascinating.
Ticket To Ride by Larry Kane
Ticket to Ride documents journalist Larry Kane's time spent travelling with the Beatles to every stop on their first North American tour. As the only American reporter, Kane got exclusive access to exclusive interviews with the Fab Four, revealing the humour and personalities of John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Larry Kane is an American journalist, writer and news anchor.
Terry O'Reilly says: I have been a fan of that band since I was a kid and it is one of those things that has never dimmed for me.
Larry is so observant as a journalist and a writer. And that's why this book is the best book I have ever read on the phenomenon that was Beatlemania. I mean, he was on the plane with them, so he got to see how they relaxed. He was in the hotels with them when they landed.
This book is the best book I have ever read on the phenomenon that was Beatlemania.- Terry O'Reilly
He was at the shows when the crowds literally crushed the gates. In the early days of The Beatles there was never enough police. They were such a new phenomenon there would be 100 police officers trying to keep 6000 or 20,000 fans from rushing The Beatles and it was impossible.
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
In Creativity, Inc. computer scientist, animator and co-founder of Pixar, Ed Catmull describes how the Pixar culture took hold at Disney Animation, changing the company from within.
Ed Catmull is a an animator, cofounder and former President of Disney Animation and Pixar.
Terry O'Reilly says: I have never read a book that's so perfectly articulates how to manage creativity as this book by Ed Catmull. Because it's such a hard thing to get your arms around because creativity is fleeting and you can't really hold it in your hand.
But one of the big things that Catmull says in that book for me was how to prevent fear. He says that managers have to pay attention to anything that creates fear in the creative department and that you have to uncouple fear from failure because creative people are terrified of failing.
You have to become a warrior to sell your ideas and to protect your ideas and to stand up for your ideas.- Terry O'Reilly
I've always said an idea, especially in the advertising business is kind of like a candle across the table. The slightest breeze will extinguish it. So you really have to be a warrior. You have to become a warrior to sell your ideas and to protect your ideas and to stand up for your ideas.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
