Ten Books

I was asked to list the 10 most influential books in my lifetime.  Anyone that is a real reader knows this is impossible.  I stressed way too much over a facebook post.  I have realized I left out too many great books.  Ask me next week, the list will not be the same.  I did not list books from my childhood, or my children's childhoods.  There are several books I read to my children that mean so much to me.  Here is the list I posted, it is painful to look at it and not make changes.

1. Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck  - This classic would always appear on a list of influential books, To Kill a Mockingbird should have been on this list too.

 2. Tortilla Curtain, T.C. Boyle - This book opened my eyes to the plight of the people crossing illegally into California.  Well written and gives both sides of this terrible issue.

 3. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb - I do not think any book list would be complete without a book by Wally Lamb.  His writing is amazing.

 4. Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness by Pete Early - This book opened my eyes even more to the plight of the mentally ill in our country.  Every person should read this.  Heart breaking!!!

 5. Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and... Sweet by Jamie Ford - This story give such a great account on Japanese Americans and what they faced in their own country.  Losing all their possessions, being thrown in prison camps.  It is so shocking.

 6. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - An amazing man!

 7. The Bridges of Madison County, by Robert James Waller - This is the first book that came alive for me.  I ached in my heart after reading it.  I heard the door bang when the husband and kids went in and out of the house.  It was also the first book that was made into a movie that I was not disappointed by.  Loved the movie as much as the book.

 This is painful. I know I am leaving out important books.

 8. His Bright Light by Danielle Steel (this is not one of her fluff books) - This book was about Danielle Steele's son.  He was bi-polar.  I read it around the time my son was being diagnosed with mental illness.  The biggest impact it had was to remind me that no matter how much money a person has, fighting mental illness is horrific.

 9. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - I picked this book because the story was so tragic.  It was not real but felt real.  This book is not for the faint of heart.  Certainly not a feel good book.

 10. The next book I read and the one after that......

I could have added so many more.  I thought about The Hunger Games.  Because it opened my eyes to reading outside my comfort zone.  Really enjoyed the series.  Never would have read it if it were not for my book club.  Most books have an impact on me.  Unless they are just plain fluff.  I am a reader.  When I read I am in that story.  I feel the pain, the joy.  So almost every story has an impact.  Here are a few of the books I read my children that I love.

Alexander and His Horrible Very Bad Day - loved reading it to my son, to the kids I babysat, to my grand kids.  Love this book.  Did not have it when Jennifer was young.

The Elves And The Shoemaker - It was Jennifer's every night book.  Her go to favorite.  She really wanted the elves to be real.

Quick As A Cricket - This was Joel's book.  His every night, several times if possible.  I give it as a gift very often.  It was also special because Jennifer could read it to Joel.  That is special.

Where The Wild Things Are - Enough said!!

There Is A Monster At The End Of This Book - when read by my brother this book is awesome.  I can entertain kids with my reading but I am nowhere near as good as my brother.

Dean R. Koontz books.  Jennifer & I would fight over who would read it first.  Great to share my reading passion.

There it is.  A very short list of books I have loved and still love.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

This is our book club read this month.  I have already read it.  It is as sad, or maybe even sadder than the first time I read it.  More after our meeting on Wednesday night.

Best Books of The Year

I checked through some of my blogs from the last year looking for a list of my best books from 2010. It looks like I only gave five books a 5 rating. Here they are:

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
This is a cute story and a very good read.

Waiting For Superman - This is a documentary in a book. Very interesting if you care about the poor shape of our public schools.

Hotel on The Corner of Bitter & Sweet by Jamie Ford - This is an interesting story during the period of history that the United States had Japanese Camps. Very nicely written and a unique story.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I think this book is an amazing life journey. My book club did not agree.

My favorite book of the year was definitely: The Help by Kathryn Stockett. If my school went up to a 10, I would have given this book a 10. If you have not read it, make it your next book to read. Treat yourself to a great book.

Now I need to get back to reading! Only days to go.
The question was put to me today: "What will my goal for next year be?" Any suggestions?

The End

I finished The Help tonight. Could not put it down. I am not ready to go to sleep because I am just feeling the after glow of a fantastic book. This book should be the next To Kill a Mockingbird. Novel classes should read it. Women's Studies should teach it. This book is about the strength of women. Each woman slowly opens a bit of her heart to another woman. The ugliness is shocking. Reading it makes me want to strive to be a better person. A better friend. I am not going to be able to wait until the end of the month to discuss this book. I feel like I should read it again. I just might towards the end of the month. For now, I have other books to read. If you are reading this blog and do not own this book, do yourself a favor, buy it. Find time for yourself and read it. It is a treat.