Day Twelve: Books

Okay, so. Facebook. The more mature people on my friends list have been passing around a filler-outer-spam thingy that goes like this:

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen books 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. (To do this, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, paste rules in a new note, cast your 15 picks, and tag people in the note - upper right hand side.)

Well, I'm not going to tag anyone but I do like thinking about books that have impacted me.

1. Life of Pi - Yann Martel (This book, and maybe it's silly to give a book power like this but, this book gave me the strength to believe in God even if I wasn't quite sure who he was.)
2. The Professor and the Madman - Simon Winchester (Any person who loves language, who loves English will love this book. The amazing history of the Oxford English Dictionary is truly a tale of a professor and the madman who helped him; a story of help coming from all the wrong places.)
3. The Places You'll Go - Dr. Seuss (And, you will, go to oh, so many places.)
4. Close Range - Annie Proulx (Though I'll never write the way she does; never be able to craft a scene or describe emotion the way she does, I'm still able to read her without jealousy. And, if you know me, being able to admire talent without getting all snitty about it. . . well you know, then, what a feat it is.)
5. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer (I think the boy is an idiot; the writer? A genius.)
6. Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer (So, I always thought Mormons were absolutely off-the-wall nuts. This book confirms my belief, but, Krakauer also does a careful job of distinguishing the different branches of Mormonism from each other.)
7. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (The book that I finished and said, Well, I want to be a writer. How incredible?)
8. The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - Brady Udall (Speaking of BYU. . . Udall is a graduate. But, don't hold it against him. He's a masterful storyteller. I'm not sure if I recommend this book; it is heart wrenching and unrelenting. It did impact me though, and the story is absolutely unique - a rarity.)
9. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle (To be honest, I don't remember much about this book except that at the time I was absolutely enthralled. I remember a big old house and a thunderstorm and I remember loving every second of my stay in her universe. I should maybe read it again, but, I might wait to share it with my own kids; I'll relive it then.)
10. Skeleton Crew - Stephen King (I went through a King "phase" where he was all I read, I find him a bit repetitive now but I still go back to this collection of spooky stories. Something about them captures him.)
11. Gone, Baby, Gone - Dennis Lehane (I had trouble choosing a Lehane book - he's written several. However, this one resonates with me (maybe because it was such an incredible movie). I'm not usually one for mysteries or capers but I think Lehane hits on raw human emotion within his detective plots.)
12. Dracula - Bram Stoker (At least one classic had to make the list.)
13. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen(Ok. So, prepare a little for a rant. I hate British literature. I can't stand the style or the stories or ugh, anything about it. I suffered through my Junior Brit Lit class with a permanent scowl on my face. Still, Elizabeth and Darcy are a very classic pair and something about their story still rings with me, even now. My opinion about Brit Lit hasn't changed, don't you worry. I'm not afraid to throw Wuthering Heights to the wolves and take one step towards me with that horrid Jane Eyre and I'll throw you to them, too.)
14. Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare (Not a book you say? I say: Shove it.)
15. In a Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson (I want to live in Australia, ok? That's it.)

Also, Harry Potter could totally be on this list because What A Ride. But, it remains at #16 and therefore not worthy.