P.S. They are in no particular order.
1. "To Kill a Mockingbird: by Harper Lee
I had grown up watching the movie of "To Kill a Mockingbird" since I was little (my mom loves old movies and so do I). I never truly understood it, though, until I read the book in 8th grade. I remember that I was at a friend's house while my parents were out of town when I read that they pronounced Tom Robinson guilty and, on instinct, threw the book across the room. I was SO MAD. But I remember having so many good discussions about this book in that class and Atticus was the best father in the world.
2. "Harry Potter" by J.L. Rowling
What can I say? I grew up with Harry Potter. My mom bought me the first three books when we were in Ireland and, at the time, I didn't really care and sort of left them on the shelf without reading them until my friend in middle school was talking about how she was still on the wait list at the library for the second book and she wanted it sooo baaaad! I thought about it and said that I thought I had the first three books at home. She gave me this look, you know that condescending yet suspicious look and told me that I couldn't have the third book since it hadn't come out yet. This was at the time when the books were released in Ireland before they were released in the States. I went home, checked, and sure enough I had all three. I refused to let her borrow any of them until I finished them.
But, truly, the books and I grew up together. When I finished the 7th book, crying several times throughout, it was strange to realize that it was over and that, if she wrote more, it wouldn't be the same. Again, this is a series I reread every few years. I still get teary eyes during the last book.
3. "The Last Herald Mage Trilogy" by Mercedes Lackey
My friend Diane introduced Mercedes Lackey to me when we were both in middle school and I immediately read as many of her books as possible. The Last Herald Mage trilogy became my favorite of all of her books and I have reread them every few years since. They are probably some of my most reread books, though not as much as "The Scarlet Pimpernel." These books challenged some of the ways I view the world as well as helping me build on some on some the things I value greatly to this day. They books themselves aren't the most well-written, nor are they the most earth shattering in what they present. Perhaps even a bit melodramatic and ridiculous at times (okay, SUPER DRAMATIC AND CHEESY ANGSTY, so sue me). However, they've stuck with me and I still love them.
4. "Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
I also read this in my 8th grade English class. And in high school. And in college. I know this is kind of cheating since it's a short story and not a "book," per se. But it's always kind of stuck with me, kind of like "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It also sticks with me because I reused an essay I wrote in high school for a college class with a professor I REALLY disliked and he 1) wrote that it was one of the best essays he had ever written (really?), and 2) still thought it was good even if he didn't agree with my interpretation of the symbolism (how does Spring not represent new life in this story? Honestly?).
5. "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
This was a book I read in my 6th grade English class. I remember the class was having a discussion and the teacher, one of my favorites, was trying to explain how there were multiple views on something to this one student (I don't remember the exact context). But, at one point, she said, "You're trying to see everything in black and white when there's a million shades of grey in between and a whole frickin' rainbow outside of that!" That was when I picked up the word "frickin'," much to my mom's dismay. I thought it was an appropriate comment considering that we were talking about "The Giver" (everyone sees in black and white except the Giver and, later, Jonas). It was her own way of telling us to think outside of the box.
6. "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
I read this at some point right after my Great Grandmother Reba had died and I actually read it twice, back to back, because I was sure I had missed something. When it was revealed that Leslie died, I was sure that they were wrong. They were going to find her, or she was actually in the REALLY REAL Terabithia on some adventure. But when I finished the book and it wasn't revealed that she was still alive, I was devastated. I went and reread it and cried for the last part of the book as I really understood what it meant to deal with death.
7. "The Twilight Series" by Stephanie Meyers
When I did my student teaching, my students knew me for my strong dislike of Twilight. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading the books. They were fun. I actually met Stephanie Meyers when I bought the first two books. She was signing them in the BYU Bookstore and I thought, cool. Vampire books on sale. And I can get the author to sign them. Why not? I had no idea who she was at this time and there was no one there at her signing and I felt kind of bad for her; so, I asked her what it felt like to be a published author (cuz, hey, we need some kind of conversation in the empty bookstore). She looked at me like I was an idiot and said something, like, "Well, I've been published for a while now, so, normal, I guess." And I was like, psh, FINE. See if I care. Bought my books and left.
Little did I know...
But the books, aside from fun, were troubling to me once I saw how so many of my students in my classes idolized these books, wanted to be Bella, and wanted to find their Edward. NO. No, no no, NO. So many problems with this that I won't go into on here. What these books taught me is that when I have daughters they will read Twilight (if they want), but they will meet so many other better characters before Bella that she will be just a tiny blip on their radar.
8. "The Scarlet Pimpernel" by Baroness Orczy
Another book from middle school and what I normally say when people ask for my "favorite book." I read this book at least once a year. I'm not that big on the straight up romance genre (be it movie, book, or whatever... unless it's a Korean drama; for some reason it's the cheesier the better on those for me). This book is the exception. The romance in this makes me all giggly and romanticy feeling. Same goes for several other books in the series (did you know it's a series?). I love the characters and all of their relationships. Also, this is the book that inspired the creation of Zorro and, later, Batman, so that makes it ten times cooler. Because BATMAN. (Ask me sometime about how I decided I needed to learn how to read because of Batman.)
9. "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl
This was the first honest to goodness chapter book I ever read. Those two page per chapter chapter books don't count. This was REAL. My class read it when I was gone on a trip to Europe with my parents and I wanted to read it. I decided to check it out at our next library visit. When we went to the library, we had to read a paragraph out loud to the teacher before we could check it out to make sure it was something we could actually read rather than just choosing a book at random because we had to check one out. When it was my turn, the teacher let me through without reading out loud because she knew I could handle it. It was the most advanced book anyone was checking out (people were mostly getting picture books), and I was the only one who didn't have to prove I could read my book. I felt so special.
10. "The Kitchen God's Wife" by Amy Tan
This is the book that introduced me to Amy Tan of whom I am a huge admirer. So many of her stories are about mother daughter relationships and this one in particular really spoke to me. I read this in my Asian-American literature class at BYU (so many good books in that class!). It was also the first class that got me thinking critically about representation, diversity, and being mindful about creating an inclusive school environment for all students (because I am an educator so OF COURSE I go there). I also really love "The Joy Luck Club."
It was super hard to narrow it down to ten books. Sometimes I tell myself I need to read more "good" books (classics, non-fiction, blah blah blah), but then I'm like, nah. Fantasy! Fiction! Young adult fantasy and fiction! Comic books! Too much research to read for school to spend my free time reading books that require me to actually pay attention. I need some nice brain candy, I just finished "Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern which was absolutely lovely and I highly recommend it. And now I'm reading some fantasy book that was on sale on the Kindle book store. Not even sure what it's called. But it's fun. Love when I find a new fantasy series.
What kinds of books are you guys reading? Any recommendations?
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