The "Rules"
In your status line, list 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes and don't think too hard - they don't have to be the "right" or "great" works, just the ones that have touched you.
In your status line, list 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes and don't think too hard - they don't have to be the "right" or "great" works, just the ones that have touched you.
1. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
This book was like my life in highschool. There's a whole lot in here about valuing yourself and being true to yourself that I based my outlook around.
2. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
I swore I was going to Hogwarts for years. I was in love with Ron Weasley and I was Hermione Granger.
3. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman
a.k.a. The Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, and Amber Spyglass. Part of me feels like all my religious beliefs seeped into me when I read these books in seventh grade. Or maybe I liked them so much because they aligned with my beliefs. Whatever, spiritual connection, great story.
4. Arthur's Christmas
One of the first books I learned how to "read". Or as I now know, pre-read (aka memorized and pretended to read). Arthur the aardvark tries to make Santa the perfect snack based on the food's he sees mall Santa's eating around town. It ends up being a pizza with pickles, bubble gum, ice cream and even more atrocities by the end.
***I'm starting to reach a little bit here***
5. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
Easy to access, comforting ideas for spiritually turbulent times. Though the author is decidedly un-Taoist in his need for everyone to belief Taoism is the only answer.
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6. American Girl Felicity Series by Valerie Tripp
No small influence on my hair color and college choice.
*** I'm reaching a LOT here***
7. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Never actually read this all the way through, but I've tried, several times. In high school I was in love with the idea of running off into the woods and living alone in a cabin without the stress and struggles of society. Trying to read it as an adult, I just found Thoreau to be an insufferable misanthrope and had to put the book down. But it stays on my shelf, a quest to conquer.
8. The Time Quintet by Madeline L'Engle
Most of my knowledge of Christianity comes from these books. For example, did you know unicorns are as real as angels? And that your body is a universe? And all kinds of other trippy stuff that makes me question an individual's place in the grander scheme of reality and space.
9. There's a Monster at the End of This Book by Grover (and Jon Stone)
Because it might just be the best book ever written.
10. The Giver by Lois Lowry
Always recommend, just not to my fifth graders who don't understand theme and deeper meanings yet.
