Aug. 13: Fifteen books

I’ve been tagged on Facebook several times with this meme, and am finally writing it up.

“This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. What 15 books you’ve read will always stick with you? First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including me because I’m interested in seeing what books my friends choose. Only 15...

You may choose to think about the impact it had on you at the time, as opposed to enduring literary or scholarly value. Don’t worry about rank order.”

Here’s my list:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. There are several reasons this one will always stay with me. First, it was an amazing story, and so much better than I expected it to be. The ideas of racism seem (to use a way over-used cliché) ahead of their time. Secondly, it was one of the first classic novels I read that I really, truly enjoyed. And lastly, I was reading it when my dear grandmother died and I can clearly remember traveling to and from her funeral, reading the book along the way. I think it will always be part of that memory.
2. The Tales of the City series, by Armistead Maupin. My friend Ed encouraged me to read these books in the late 90s. I loved them. They were different than any book I’d read before, and they opened my eyes to a whole new genre of fiction and an amazing author. I also loved that they were set in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities in the world. I have since gone to two of Maupin’s book readings and was able to chat with him briefly at each.
3. The Bible. For better or worse, reading this book has certainly affected my views on the world. While I’d like to believe that the Bible’s authors were inspired and had only the best intentions in writing the things they did, I’m quite sure that the many translations of their original text has warped it into something far different from what it was meant to be. I also intensely resent the way the Bible is used nowadays—hidden behind, scriptures taken out of context to justify hatefulness and judgmentalism… don’t get me started.
4. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. My junior year in college I took Introduction to Literature because the art class I wanted to take was full. It was the modern poetry class I took the next quarter that made me truly appreciate poetry for the first time in my life, but it was the textbook for Intro to Lit that opened my eyes to a world I had never known. My professor encouraged me to do more writing and it was the first time I ever had that feeling of “I can do that!” while I read.
5. The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler. I love most of Anne Tyler’s novels so it’s hard to choose the one that’s been most influential. I guess it’d be this one—the first I read—because it made me fall in love with her writing.
6. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. I put off reading this one for a long time because of the subject matter—it’s about a young girl who’s raped and murdered—but it wasn’t nearly as graphic or disturbing as I expected. And what I loved best was its ideas of life after death. As an Adventist, I was taught that life after death is B.S., but I’m not satisfied with that belief anymore. I’m still not sure what I believe happens to us after we die, but this book explored a possibility I hadn’t.
7. PassPorter’s Field Guide to the Disney Cruise Line and Its Ports of Call (Passporter’s Field Guide to the Disney Cruise, by Jennifer & Dave Marx. I know, it’s weird that a travel guide could be a book that could stick with me. It’s just that this one is EXACTLY the kind of travel guide I would write. It is cram-packed full of detail and I LOVE it. I have since gotten their guides to Disney World and Disneyland. They’re the best out there.
8. The Anne of Green Gables series, by L.M. Montgomery. I read these in eighth grade. They were my first “romantic” novels. I know they were written for young adults, but reading them made me feel like a grown-up.
9. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume. Duh.
10. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, by Betty MacDonald. I learned to read before I started school, and Mom would walk me down to Kathy’s school and the librarian let me check out books from “the big kids’” library. These were probably my favorites. I got them for my kids a couple years ago and they were not even a little bit entertained.
11. The Promise, by Danielle Steel. My first Danielle Steel novel. I read it in high school, and it began a thankfully short love affair with her ridiculous and very trashy novels.
12. The Firm, by John Grisham. This was the first of his books that I read. Although I don’t usually go for the big best-sellers, everyone in my office was reading this book and I bowed to the peer pressure. It gave me nightmares—the idea of being watched really freaked me out—but I thought it was really entertaining. The movie, not so much.
13. Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White. I think this was the first book that ever made me cry.
14. The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. I loved being allowed to read something that was considered “fantasy.” It’s not my thing anymore, but I enjoyed these books very, very much in middle school.
15. The Little House on the Prairie series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Who didn’t love these books? I was a big Holly Hobbie fan, so this series and the TV show fit right into my life.

What do you have on your list of 15 books?