1. The Bookshop Dog by Cynthia Rylant - quite likely my favorite children's book ever. The story about Martha Jane, a golden lab who spends her days in her owner's bookstore, was one i chose at least once a week when reading before bed with my Dad when I was little.
2. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta - I've read this story about a girl from an Italian family growing up in Autstralia and dealing with her mother's depression more times then I can count. On at least three occasions, I've started it before going to bed and ending up reading the entire thing that night. I also love her first novel, Looking for Alibrandi.
3. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom - A certain Ms. Arregoces turned me on to this, and as soon as I opened the first page, I didn't move off my couch for hours until I finished, at which point I wanted to start it all over again. Such a good book.
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling - like so many people my age, this was the book that got me reading. My aunt gave it to me and started reading aloud to me, but when she left I was forced to read it myself - and I couldn't put it down.
5. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer - a really great mix of humor and seriousness, this is a great story (two stories, really) and I love the way it's written - a compilation of letters, legends, and narration. I read this on a plane and recieved stares for laughing hysterically at a Ukrainian character's mishaps with the English language.
6. The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory - I got really into this book, and all the ones that followed, about King Henry VIII around sixth grade. I was probably a little young for some of the racier bits but loved the intrigue and historical aspects, and it got me hooked on all sorts of historical fiction.
7. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman - This collection of essays made me realize that writing doesn't always have to be about a story - it can just be a way to let readers into your head. It made me start writing a lot more.
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky - my first foray into "indie" teen novels - ones that didn't feature the young and beautiful cavorting around in designer clothes. I felt incredibly mature and counter-culture. I later realized the book was pulished by MTV, the bastion of all things teeny-bop, but I still remember the way reading it made me realized that life for everyone else was no better than mine.
9. The Future Dictionary of America from McSweeney's - not quite a novel, but this collection of a variety of young writers', artists' and musicians' ideas on what will constitute the American vocabulary is a fascinating way to think about the way our culture is headed.
As soon as I post this I'll remember about seventeen more, but these are the books that define different times of my life and I don't think I'll ever forget.
Annie--terrific list, both in its diversity and in the strength of the impressions these books made on you and therefore your reasons for remembering them so vividly. I'll have to try the Gregory book, since also a big historical fiction fan and think the Tudor period especially interesting. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDelete