Book Meme, Part Two
As I went through the list of books in my previous post, I got to thinking: what are the books I've read that have widened my world view and which I've gone back to again and again over the years. So I found myself compiling another list - a snapshot in time as it were, of the books that I feel have really shaped me. If I do this again in five years, the list might change a bit. Or not.
Unlike my husband, I "visit" good books and reread them often. It may be years between readings; but it is always nice to slip into their world and breathe a sigh of relief that not much has changed since I last visited. Or find that I have changed and trying to figure out why (always interesting). This following list contains only single works or complete series that I have read in their entirety and that I have reread at least five times.
Many of them opened my eyes to another culture (World of the Shining Prince), a new way of thinking (Tao Te Ching) or made me aware of prejudice and how silly it is (Magic's Pawn). Still others have such sublime passages that to read them is not reading - that is not being conscious of looking at words on page, as they are so superbly constructed as to be an experience (The Great Gatsby). There aren't as many of the classics on this list as I would like; probably because I have read selections from many of them but not the work in its entirety *sigh* I would include Proust, the Mahabarata and others in this category. Some of these stories make me laugh hysterically (All Creatures Great and Small and the Grand Sophy). Others are like therapy; I've noticed that I often read the Little House books when faced with nasty problems (after all if she could cope with floods, seven-month blizzards, fires and whatnot, my family problems look small in comparison.) And still others are guilty pleasures. And still others, like Year of the Unicorn or the Alanna quartet, came along just when I was needing literature that had strong women characters in them. So in the tradition of Sei Shonagon, here's a bibliophile's snapshot of books that made a difference.
A Civil ContractGeorgette HeyerA Distant MirrorBarbara TuchmanA Man Called IntrepidWilliam StevensonA Midsummer Night's DreamShakespeareA Princess of Mars (and series)Edgar Rice BurroughsA Romance of Three Kingdoms(author unknown)A Worm OuroborosE.R. EddisonA Wrinkle In TimeMadeleine L'EngleAlanna: The First Adventure (quartet)Tamora PierceAll Creatures Great and SmallJames HerriottAmazons!Jessica Amanda SalmansonAnne of Green GablesL.M. MontgomeryAs You Like ItShakespeareBeautyRobin McKinleyBeezus and RamonaBeverly ClearyBetsy & Tacy seriesMaud Hart LovelaceBurning Your BoatsAngela CarterCharlie & The Chocolate FactoryRoald DahlComet in MoominlandTove JanssonCosmosCarl SaganDeep WizardryDiane DuaneDragonflightAnne McCaffreyDrawing Down the MoonMargot AdlerDuneFrank HerbertElfquestWendy & Richard PiniFast Food NationEric SchlosserFinn Family MoomintrollTove JanssonGifts From The SeaAnn LindberghGreek & Roman MythsEdith HamiltonHamletShakespeareIf You Are Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night RainbowCooper EdensIslandiaAusten Tappan WrightJames & The Giant PeachRoald DahlJane EyreCharlotte BronteKing LearShakespeareKitchenBanana YoshimotoLaurel's KitchenLaurel RobertsonMagic's PawnMercedes LackeyMansfield ParkJane AustenMoominland MidwinterTove JanssonMoonheartCharles de LintMuch Ado About NothingShakespeareMurder on the Orient ExpressAgatha ChristieNickled and DimedBarbara EhrenrichPersuasionJane AustenPopcoScarlet ThomasPride & PrejudiceJane AustenRed Moon & Black MountainJoy ChantSense & SensibilityJane AustenSky IslandL. Frank BaumSo You Want To Be A WizardDiane DuaneStrange ToysPatricia GearyThe Blue CastleL.M. MontgomeryThe Blue Fairy BookAndrew LangThe Blue SwordRobin McKinleyThe Collected Poems & PlaysT.S. EliotThe Compass RoseUrsula Le GuinThe Deed of PaksennarionElizabeth MoonThe Devil's CubGeorgette HeyerThe Earthsea QuintetUrsula Le GuinThe Egypt GameZilpha Keatly SnyderThe FoundlingGeorgette HeyerThe Gate to Women's CountrySherri S. TepperThe Grand SophyGeorgette HeyerThe Great GatsbyF. Scott FitzgeraldThe Hedge of MistPatricia Kenneally-MorrisonThe HobbitJ.R.R. TolkienThe Illiad HomerThe Last BattleC.S. LewisThe Left Hand of DarknessUrsula Le GuinThe Lion, the Witch & the WardrobeC.S. LewisThe Little House booksLaura Ingalls WilderThe Lord of the RingsJ.R.R. TolkienThe Moon of GomrathAlan GarnerThe Murder of Roger AckroydAgatha ChristieThe OdysseyHomerThe OresteiaAeschylusThe Pillow BookSei ShonagonThe Riddlemaster trilogyPatricia A. McKillipThe Rise & Fall of the Third ReichWilliam ShirerThe Sarashina NikkiLady SarashinaThe Scarlet PimpernelBaroness OrczyThe Silver ChairC.S. LewisThe Tale of GenjiMurasaki ShikibuThe Tao Te ChingLao TzuThe Turning PlaceJean E. KarlThe Twelve CaesarsSuetoniusThe Voyage of the Dawn TreaderC.S. LewisThe Weirdstone of BrisingamenAlan GarnerThe Wind's Twelve QuartersUrsula Le GuinThe Wizard of Oz (series)L. Frank BaumThe Wood Wife Terri WindlingThe World of the Shining PrinceIvan MorrisTo Kill A MockingbirdHarper LeeTomoe GozenJessica Amanda SalmansonTwelth NightShakespeareUnderstood BetsyDorothy CanfieldWar For the OaksEmma BullWitch WorldAndre NortonYear of the UnicornAndre Norton