Growing up Geek: Timothy J. Seppala

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Timothy J. Seppala.

I was 7 years old the first time I read Jaws. I was in second grade, and like most boys that age, I was absurdly fascinated by sharks and dinosaurs. I still am. What made me want to read it was spending an afternoon watching the flick on LaserDisc with my dad. By the time the end credits rolled, I was filled with a sense of wonder that I still get when I watch it on Blu-ray. It left me wanting more, though, so I checked the novel out from the library.

I don't remember how long it took me to read, but I recall not being able to put it down; it was unlike anything I'd ever encountered before. Mostly because it was an adult novel and I was still a kid. There was blood! There was swearing! There were entire chapters written from a shark's perspective! After finishing it, there was no way I could go back to the steady diet of whatever it was my classmates were reading, so I skipped youth fiction almost entirely. My next read was Jurassic Park. After that, the rest of Crichton's and Benchley's works kept me busy until high school where I discovered Tolkien and King.

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