Anyway, the best way to discover new things is to go out of the normal paths. So for instance why not stop reading novels and try starting to read non fictional books.
Say, _The Selfish Gene_ by Richard Dawkins. I discovered this book because I was browsing in the zoology section of my library, looking for something on animals and their behaviours, and I discovered instead this brilliant book on genetics. (I subsequently discovered how influential this man has become since he wrote this first book)
What about _The grammar of architecture_, by Emily Cole.
A superbly illustrated book on architecture across the ages and the world. It describes, well, more styles than I could ever think of, with full page illustrations each of a quality I have rarely seen. And I am not talking little drawings or photos, but engravings like you would see on a bank note.
A perfect inspiration for the level maker
I also read a few novelized biography lately, to discover a bit more about some characters I vaguely knew about and wanted to use in some RPG scenarios.
For instance the story of Lady Erzsebet Bathory, _La comtesse de sang_ by Maurice Perisset, who killed several hundreds young girls in her dark transylvanian castle in order to bath in their blood...
I think there is an English book on the subject by Valentine Penrose called _The countess of Blood_
Another I read was about the life of Nostradamus was written by Valerio Evangelisti, an italian author who usually writes great novels that combine sci fi elements and historical adventures in a unique blend.
May I also recommend the latest book by Umberto Eco, _Baudelino_, a brilliant historical novel. The story follows the adventures of the eponymous hero throughout various historical events such as the sack of Byzance, the conquest of the italian city states by the emperor Frederic I Barbarossa and his subsequent death during his morning swim. The book is brilliant in that it plays on a lot of documented facts and events, but it also develops know myths of the time, such as the Hashishim and the Man under the Mountain (the famous Assassins), or the various monsters of the time (no, no dragons, but the things that you will find in good books on fantastic beasts in medieval times, such as the "cameleopard", who was thought to be a cross between a camel and a leopard, but who just happened to be a giraffe).
Gee, there are so many books out there. All you need is a good library and a bit more curiosity !
Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !
