| | I got this from Facebook. Thought you all might enjoy it, too.
Directions: don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.
These are in no particular order.
1. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Written when the author was fifteen, this book is an amazing exercise in thick description, meaning that the author is both a part of the world she describes and also outside it enough to know what others would find compelling about it. If only Ponyboy Curtis actually existed so we could get married (:
2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Fascinating psychological novel. I cannot understand how it manages to be uplifting and horrifying at the same time. Frighteningly well-written.
3. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. How does a person explain their first trip with Tolkien? I think I was ten. I will never forget the delicious thrill.
4. Little Women/Little Men/Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott. Oh so hilarious, transcendentalist, and extremely emotionally compelling. I wonder if little girls read these today. They should. They're the kind of books that actually offer decent insight on coming of age as a woman.
5. Vanity Fair by W.M. Thackeray. This book is so absolutely hilarious that you owe it to yourself to read it. It's like taking a time machine trip back to England during the Napoleonic Wars and having a really, really snarky guy as your tour guide.
6. Hard Times by Charles Dickens. It's funny that this book is on my list because the "point" he's making is something I disagree with almost entirely. I love the book, though, and I have the highest respect for Dickens's ability to evoke any emotion or reaction.
7. The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. As horrifying as this may be to my sister, I was unable to get into The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I first tried to read it. In danger of passing by the Chronicles forever, I was convinced by my mother to read The Magicians Nephew instead. It is still one of my favorite books. The part in the hall of statues is hair-raisingly brilliant.
8. Beauty by Robin McKinley. This novel-length re-telling of the original story of Beauty and the Beast made me fall completely and irrevocably in love with the Beast.
9. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King. This book is the first in a (loooong and growing) series of books about Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell. I went mad after I read it. Usually the concept of sequels to famous classics (Scarlett, anyone?) is just something that should not happen, but these books are absolutely delicious.
10. The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. I have become an AMS fanatic at this point. I really have no perspective. I've read 12-15 of his books now. I love the way he evokes the places he writes about so completely that I feel like I would be at home if I ever went to them.
11. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. I read this at just the right age, early adolescence. I cried when I finished it. I believe it's a book that should be read by everyone, no exceptions.
12. Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis. Yep, he's back. This is Lewis's autobiography of the early years of his life, including his conversion. It was my number 1 favorite book for a while, I think because I identified strongly with the way he thought. It's extremely insightful.
13. Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. This is the most enjoyable book about Christianity that I have ever read. I won't claim that it's easy to read or that the concepts are easily grasped, but I believe it's endlessly rewarding.
14. The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton. This is one of the strangest books I have ever read, but also one of the most profound. It's short, funny, and exciting, and it also packs a huge spiritual punch.
15. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. This is the book I'm reading now. Even though I'm not far yet, I have already been completely pulled in by the beautiful prose and the extremely perceptive analysis of human nature and oppression. I highly recommend it.
Oh dear, so many more books I'd love to include. I hope some of you will do this, too. I want to know what books have influenced you. |
| | Posted 6/24/2009 4:51 PM - 25 Views - 6 eProps - 3 comments
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