This book meme - which basically boils down to "name ten books that have stayed with you for years" - has been going around Facebook, but my friend Nicole posted it on her blog and tagged all her friends, and we've decided we're bringing memes back, because we miss them. SO. Here are my ten, in roughly chronological (of my life, not publication) order.
1) The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder - I loved books from when I was tiny, but this was the series that really turned me into a voracious reader when I broke my leg at age six and was stuck in bed for a while. And this is my favorite of the series.
2) Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - I started reading LMM when I was about eight and haven't stopped. And this was my first ever online fandom, when I joined an LMM listserv in 1996. (I made friends there that I have to this day.)
3) An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'Engle - The first novel I specifically remember making me think about abstract ideas, in addition to the direct plot/characters/etc. Later wrote my college thesis on this and some of her other books.
4) The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley - Just mind-blowing to a relatively sheltered Catholic kid, and sparked a lot of my interest in Celtic mythology and Arthurian lore. (Weirdly enough for a book considered to be a feminist retelling, I read this because all my male friends were reading it, and they were shocked and horrified by me reading something with sex in it.)
5) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I'm pretty sure I read this when the 1995 TV version came out, and it was one of the first adult "classics" I read for fun (rather than school) and wholeheartedly loved.
6) Mystique by Amanda Quick - The first romance novel I read, plucked from my mom's bag of library books one snow day in high school.
7) The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir - One of the first adult history books I read. My friend Christine and I recently realized, after complaining about several of Weir's books in a row but still buying them all, that Weir just got us young enough that we're convinced we love all her stuff even though we have grave concerns about her methods and style.
8) True Believers by Jane Haddam - My senior year of college, I read this (then new) mystery and then went back and ILLed all the previous books in the series, and they kept me sane while I was writing my thesis and preparing to leave school.
9) Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser - I found this when I was working at a bookstore after college, and it got me more interested in cooking and food writing, and provided a sort of touchstone for how to Be An Adult when I was newly out on my own.
10) So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson - I found this around the same time, and it similarly provided a context for how a bookworm could be a mostly functional adult. It's also one of the best celebrations of reading I've ever read, and now I reread it whenever I'm in a reading slump.
I don't want to be annoying and tag anyone who doesn't want to do it, but if you WANT to, consider yourself tagged, and leave a link to your answer in the comments so I can read it! (Or if you don't have a blog but just feel like sharing in the comments, feel free.)
I love that we have shared book loves! The Mists of Avalon! It's funny because I didn't know anyone else who had read that book and now I've had two people talk about it. What a great read. As for The Long Winter - it's not my favourite because it's so bleak, but it was my kids' favourite when we read it together out loud. They loved the adventure of Almanzo going to get the wheat. Great list! I'm glad you did this.
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