A few months ago, there was a thing going around Facebook about the 10 books that stuck with you. I modified it to the 10 books that changed my life, because I felt that it was a similar concept, but much more me...the books that have stuck with me and made me who I am. Facebook stalking tells me that the lists are going around again, so I figured I'd explain my 10 choices. They're listed below in the order that I'm pretty sure I read them.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
This book set me on a journey with millions and millions of others around the world, and I patiently waited (am still waiting?) for my letter to Hogwarts. This book made me enjoy reading and immersed me in a new world with new friends. Seven books and eight movies later, I still love the Harry Potter series and the book that started it all.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
One of the first books taking place in Africa I've ever read, I remember this book tugging at my emotional heartstrings. There was a lot of self-reflection about the value of life and going out and exploring the world. Kingsolver made me want to see the world.
Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States by Kenneth Jackson
I don't think it's a big secret that if I could do anything in the world, I'd be an urban planner. I loved this book because it was my introduction to urban--or, really, suburban--planning and the formation of cities and towns. It truly fascinated me and is a book I still go back and read parts of today.
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
Lewis got me enamored with alternate histories. I loved the mind game presence of the book. Even though the book is decades old, the society created has found new homes in many young adult dystopian novels, a genre with which I'm also in love. This book also made me realize just how lucky I am to live in the US and that the US turned out the way it did.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Potentially my favorite book of all time, I loved the twists and turns and am secretly very happy that every movie version has turned out to be mostly bizarre. I remember reading it in the living room and finding out I only had 100 pages left around midnight and deciding I'd stay up to finish. Then it was 2am and I still had pages left and I kept reading. I couldn't put the book down, and still can't. It's a dangerous book for me to read.
Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed by Jack Diamond
I know many people don't like this book, but I really enjoyed the journeys to places near and far and the exploration of diverse cultures. The focus on environmental factors and humans' impact on the environment fascinated me and was my first introduction to environmental history, which became the basis for my thesis concentration: the history of poverty in the developing world.
Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia by Tom Bissell
Every now and then a book comes along that encourages you to read more and more and more. This travelogue is one of those books. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book about Bissell's travels in Uzbekistan that I created a very lengthy book list containing one book for each country in the world. THIS book started it all.
A Different Kind of War Story by Carolyn Nordstrom
I got into environmental history and, soon after, African history. This book is the reason why. This book also became a theme through three years of college and gave me the topic for one of my theses on the Mozambican Civil War. Some parts of the war are so gruesome that I had to put the book down, but the focus on the people element, especially the children, makes this book an essential read on Mozambique. Nordstrom reminds us that there's hope even in the darkest of times.
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe
No top 10 list for me would be complete without a Chinua Achebe novel. This book did for me and my impression of Africa what Sinclair Lewis did for me on the United States. Achebe has an ability I've only felt with a few other writers (most of whom are on this list)--that you are in the story and not just observing it.
Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman
This novel on relatively isolated Jewish communities in New York was a great reintroduction for me into my own heritage. Even though I grew up in a more secular community, I could relate to the topics and the struggles characters went through. It put some of my life experiences back into perspective.
So that's my list of ten. Six are works of fiction, four are non-fiction. With one exception--Harry Potter--all were read for school or class, and were read in high school or college. Harry Potter, however, was a gift to me from my aunt/godmother. In the front, she wrote "Enjoy the adventure!" and boy did I ever. Each book on this list was a major step on my life adventure and helped refine me into the person I am today. I may have initially been upset about being forced to read them for school, but I'm definitely glad I did!
On a separate note, last night I watched ABC's Behind the Scenes of Frozen and it was super cool to see how the movie became what it was. I had already seen the below clip, but it's this post's thing that makes me happy. I love Multilanguage song videos, and this one is beautiful...so many individually great performances. I'm of course personally in love with Idina Menzel (English), as well as Anais Delva (French/Canadian French), Takako Matsu (Japanese), Jelena Gavrilovic (Serbian), and Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg (Danish).
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| My Harry Potter Collection |
This book set me on a journey with millions and millions of others around the world, and I patiently waited (am still waiting?) for my letter to Hogwarts. This book made me enjoy reading and immersed me in a new world with new friends. Seven books and eight movies later, I still love the Harry Potter series and the book that started it all.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
One of the first books taking place in Africa I've ever read, I remember this book tugging at my emotional heartstrings. There was a lot of self-reflection about the value of life and going out and exploring the world. Kingsolver made me want to see the world.
Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States by Kenneth Jackson
I don't think it's a big secret that if I could do anything in the world, I'd be an urban planner. I loved this book because it was my introduction to urban--or, really, suburban--planning and the formation of cities and towns. It truly fascinated me and is a book I still go back and read parts of today.
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
Lewis got me enamored with alternate histories. I loved the mind game presence of the book. Even though the book is decades old, the society created has found new homes in many young adult dystopian novels, a genre with which I'm also in love. This book also made me realize just how lucky I am to live in the US and that the US turned out the way it did.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Potentially my favorite book of all time, I loved the twists and turns and am secretly very happy that every movie version has turned out to be mostly bizarre. I remember reading it in the living room and finding out I only had 100 pages left around midnight and deciding I'd stay up to finish. Then it was 2am and I still had pages left and I kept reading. I couldn't put the book down, and still can't. It's a dangerous book for me to read.
Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed by Jack Diamond
I know many people don't like this book, but I really enjoyed the journeys to places near and far and the exploration of diverse cultures. The focus on environmental factors and humans' impact on the environment fascinated me and was my first introduction to environmental history, which became the basis for my thesis concentration: the history of poverty in the developing world.
Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia by Tom Bissell
Every now and then a book comes along that encourages you to read more and more and more. This travelogue is one of those books. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book about Bissell's travels in Uzbekistan that I created a very lengthy book list containing one book for each country in the world. THIS book started it all.
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| My collection of books from my Chasing the Sea-inspired reading list |
A Different Kind of War Story by Carolyn Nordstrom
I got into environmental history and, soon after, African history. This book is the reason why. This book also became a theme through three years of college and gave me the topic for one of my theses on the Mozambican Civil War. Some parts of the war are so gruesome that I had to put the book down, but the focus on the people element, especially the children, makes this book an essential read on Mozambique. Nordstrom reminds us that there's hope even in the darkest of times.
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe
No top 10 list for me would be complete without a Chinua Achebe novel. This book did for me and my impression of Africa what Sinclair Lewis did for me on the United States. Achebe has an ability I've only felt with a few other writers (most of whom are on this list)--that you are in the story and not just observing it.
Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman
This novel on relatively isolated Jewish communities in New York was a great reintroduction for me into my own heritage. Even though I grew up in a more secular community, I could relate to the topics and the struggles characters went through. It put some of my life experiences back into perspective.
So that's my list of ten. Six are works of fiction, four are non-fiction. With one exception--Harry Potter--all were read for school or class, and were read in high school or college. Harry Potter, however, was a gift to me from my aunt/godmother. In the front, she wrote "Enjoy the adventure!" and boy did I ever. Each book on this list was a major step on my life adventure and helped refine me into the person I am today. I may have initially been upset about being forced to read them for school, but I'm definitely glad I did!
On a separate note, last night I watched ABC's Behind the Scenes of Frozen and it was super cool to see how the movie became what it was. I had already seen the below clip, but it's this post's thing that makes me happy. I love Multilanguage song videos, and this one is beautiful...so many individually great performances. I'm of course personally in love with Idina Menzel (English), as well as Anais Delva (French/Canadian French), Takako Matsu (Japanese), Jelena Gavrilovic (Serbian), and Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg (Danish).
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