The Bookline of My Life

I was recently inspired by other blogs to make a bookline. These are the books that have had the greatest significance in my life. Not all of them are favorites but most are. Some are important simply because of what was going on in my life at the time. (Also, I'm counting series. It isn't cheating because I said so.)

1. Panda Cake - Every child has a favorite picture book. Mine was a delightful story about how a panda cake is made. My mother read to me faithfully, even though she hates reading; because of her I'm a lifelong reader.

2. Chronicles of Narnia - I have an old version of the set (in the right order, thank you) but when I first got it I made the egregious error of judging a book by its cover. I took one look and picked up other reads. So these gems sat, alone and forgotten, on my shelf until I picked them up one summer in middle school, and proceeded to devour them. Those who've never had a favorite series cannot possibly understand what I was going through when I finished. It was over, some of my favorite adventures had been in Narnia (as well as my only literary crush), in order to keep the magic I revisit every year.

3. Harry Potter - Growing up, one thing I remember about fads - they were expensive. My parents were never ones to indulge in Furbies, or Pogs, or even a Walkman for crying out loud (and I thank them for not buying any of that crap). But I suppose at the price of one book a year Harry Potter wasn't too hard on them. It was fun to be able to talk about it with my classmates. We grew up with Harry, the reading levels aging with every book. I'm not going to lie, the last HP movie marked the end of an era for me. It is unlikely that something will ever come along that engages me in the same way. Mid-night releases, reading 500 pages in two days, listening to the tapes so my family knew what was going on, and movie premieres: Pottermania was a fun adolescence, and a grand magical adventure I'll revisit again and again.

4. Anne of Green Gables - A good book to be certain, though not one I'd imagine ever making it to my favorite ten. This book makes the list because of memories associated with it. I picked up the entire set at a thrift store one November and began reading the first one sometime in December. I really enjoyed the book, but Dec. 21 my grandma died, I finished reading the book on the way to her funeral. That was five years ago, I still haven't been able to bring myself to finish the series, but they sit, patiently waiting, on my shelves.

5. Guardians of Ga'Hoole - Not exactly highbrow stuff. But I really love this series! It is, dare I say it, fun! It is also a looooong series so I remember reading them during various points growing up, it was always below my reading level, but then most stuff was. This is a series I look forward to sharing with my children someday, and, with the recent movie, I was able to share it with my two favorite bibliophobes, my mom and my brother.

6. Junie B Jones and The Magic Treehouse - I throw these on the same slot because they're both here as honorable series that my brother actually read. And by honorable I mean that The Magic Treehouse was fun, I enjoyed those read alouds, but Junie B? Oh God, every grinding second of it, smiling at his enjoyment of them but secretly wishing that Junie B Jones would end quickly and mercifully (it hasn't). But he liked them, so it counts for something right?

7. Space Trilogy - Let me say squeeeeeeeeee! Now that that's out of the way, onward. C.S. Lewis is my favorite author (his fiction that is) and this is one of his less well-known works. I found the first book tucked away on a teacher's shelf in high school and read it ravenously. This was the first book in a long time to really suck me in, it was soooo good. That Christmas my doting family dug up the entire series on e-bay and gave them to me, best gift ever! The second book in the trilogy was destined to become my favorite book ever.

8. Watership Down - I've mentioned before that my reading level has always been high, in eighth grade I wanted to read Redwall for a book report but my teacher said it was below me and gave me this instead. I figured, eh why not, after all Redwall had a mouse on the cover, this had a bunny, pretty similar choices. I hated every minute. And in one of my few open defiances of a teacher I didn't finish it. I read Redwall instead, and loved every second of it. So this book stands as a testament that, just because something is at your reading level, doesn't mean you need to read it.

9. The Time Quartet - I love Madeline L'Engle's work, she writes personal characters whom you come to know and love deeply. I also enjoy the elements in her books such as space travel, time travel, and more metaphysical-ish travel. After Lewis I don't think any other author has affected me so much.

10. Little House in the Big Woods - This book stands high and proud as my first 'big-person' book. I read this book on my own sometime in second grade and it was thrilling! I love all the Little House books but this will always stand as my declaration of independent reading.

And now, for grins, my favorite ten:
1. Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
2. A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle
3. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
4. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
5. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
6. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
7. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
8. The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
9. The Indigo King by James Owen
10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Notice any trending going on there? :)