I remember the incident – venturing out of the little kids’ section of Whittier Public Library into the real kids’ section, where they had books with chapters and stuff in them.  I picked a book out of the shelf that looked interesting.  It had a crinkly plastic jacket and there was a dragon on the cover.  Dragonsong.  That sounded cool.

And so I was introduced to the world of Pern.  The story was about Menolly, who wanted to be a dragonsinger even though her freehold wouldn’t let her, but I confess I don’t remember much about the plot.  That world!  That creepy-ass Threadfall.  Those dragons who could teleport Between.  And the dragonriders who could telepathically communicate with them and keep the world safe.

Anne McCaffrey, you introduced me to fantasy novels.