August 11, 2009

15 Books

A couple of months ago, a friend tagged me on Facebook to list 15 books that will always stick with me. Though there are so many more books that belong on this list, these are the first 15 that came to mind.

  1. The Adventures of Benjamin Pink by Garth Williams. I read this about a million times when I was a kid.
  2. All things Hardy Boys. I had them all. In hard back. And read them compulsively.
  3. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. See how I cheat and get a lot more books on the list?
  4. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. Any writer who can make me fall in love with a character earns my undying respect. It's up to you to figure out which character I love.
  5. Anything with "Harry Potter" in the title by JK Rowling. I'm not in love with any character here, just the whole world.
  6. Dennis Lehane books, especially the Patrick Kenzie books. See note on #4 about falling in love.
  7. The Doomsday Spiral by Jon Land. This was the first spy thriller I ever read. It hooked me on Jon Land if not the genre.
  8. Salem's Lot by Stephen King. A nurse at the hospital gave me this book when my brother was really ill. It diverted my attention from his near-death experience (selfish, huh?) and won King a place in my heart.
  9. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. What Southern writer wouldn't worship this book?
  10. Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons. At the time I read it, it felt personal.
  11. Going to Ground by Amy Blackmarr. Again, I think timing can do a lot for a book, but I admire the way she can weave an essay.
  12. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I've long held to the notion that any book that can make me laugh out loud deserves some credit. I picked this book up in the bookstore one day, opened it, read a passage, and laughed out loud. Sold.
  13. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. I'm not much of a re-reader (except for the first 5 on this list), but I do read this book every couple of years.
  14. Judith Ortiz Cofer's books, The Line of the Sun and Silent Dancing. This is a two-fer, because her work introduced me to a wider world of literature.
  15. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Read it, and you'll understand.

Posted 1 year, 2 months ago on August 11, 2009

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