MSNative Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Today I read this article from The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/comparing-hillary-clinton-and-jeb-bushs-reading-lists/372368/ In it the author notes that these are the reading lists that the candidates want voters to think they are reading regardless of whether or not they actually are. It got me thinking that it might be interesting to see what books define us and our values/perspectives, etc. Which books speak to you? What would your book list be? Which books would help others really understand where you are coming from? Why? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Hilary Clinton is reading A Suitable Boy? I'm rereading that too! But I sort of had to give up for a bit because it's not on kindle. My arms started to hurt from holding it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I can't really say if these books 'define' me or not, but they are indicative of the books I read & love. If I went by the article & posted recent favorites (regardless of whether they are old or new books), a short/edited list of the best ones I've read in 2014 & 2015 are: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham Guantánamo Diary by Mahamedou Ould Slahi The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes Mink River by Brian Doyle Galore by Michael Crummey A Dream in Polar Fog by Yuri Rytkheu The Book of Embraces by Eduardo Galeano The Book of Chameleons by José Eduardo Agualusa Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!! LOVE LOVE LOVE those books. Love... There are more, but none come to mind at the moment. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 One Child by Torey Hayden Pocketful of Pinecones Karen Andreola Celebration of Discipline Richard Foster Traveling Mercies Anne Lamott TBIWTWSD (The Book I Want to Write Someday) Chris Binder 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 A Prayer for Owen Meany and Cider House Rules changed the way I looked at my life and the world and ultimately changed my choices/actions. Does that count? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghansMom Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maughham A Thousand Splendid Suns by khaled housseini There are more, but drawing a blank. :p 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - not sure if I'm the Mad Hatter or Alice The Iliad - I am but a generation of leaves, plus who doesn't love stopping for monologues in the midst of battle. The Odyssey - Because it might take me another 10 years to figure out where home is. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I would say that the book that best defines me is "The Witch of Blackbird Pond." This has been one of my favorite books since the first time I read it. Sometimes I am Kit, a bit spontaneous. Sometimes I am quiet like Mercy. Sometimes I'm Judith, conniving to get what I want. Sometimes I'm Hannah, taking someone under my wing, but vulnerable at the same time. Sometimes I am like Rachel, trying not to lose myself while mothering my children. Sometimes I am Matthew, standing up for what I believe to be right. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghansMom Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Also, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers and The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. My two favorite books too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghansMom Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Books that define me. Let me think. This would probably be my list: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell Blue Like Jazz - Daniel Miller The Big Book of Home Learning (because this was the book that flipped the switch for me for homeschooling) Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott Harry Potter and the Sourcerer's Stone - JK Rowling A Separate Peace - John Knowles (because this was the first assigned literature I read that made me realize I not only did my English homework, I loved it.) The Bible (because I would not be me if this had not been such a major part of my upbringing, although you are welcome to interpret that however you like.) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Lost Horizon by James Hilton. "The exhaustion of the passions is the beginning of wisdom." Other than that, I find myself drawn to mild mysteries with strong, intelligent female main characters. I love the new series with Flavia by Alan Bradley. I also like interesting history written for the general public in narrative form. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 .. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 A Prayer for Owen Meany and Cider House Rules changed the way I looked at my life and the world and ultimately changed my choices/actions. Does that count? Absolutely it counts. ;) I am enjoying reading the responses. Plus I'm adding to my summer reading list. ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Books that forever changed me and have stayed with me: The Bible (agree with Quill on this one) Fahrenheit 451 The Hiding Place Lord of the Rings trilogy Dragonsong A Separate Peace Inspiration and Incarnation Okay, I just realized that with one exception I read all of these books before I was 18, repeatedly. Hmm. I'm going to have to ponder that one for a bit. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 You know, books I read as a child or young teen have really stayed with me. I think I read them over and over until they became part of me. Did anyone else do that? I mean,I read the Little House books so often I can tell you just about anything about them. I also reread Witch of Blackbird Pond and A Little Princess over and over and over. I never really thought about why--perhaps because I did "find myself" in them? I know I desperately needed evidence of happy endings. I could only find them in books. Life wasn't "that bad." I'm not sure why I perceived it to be so. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 The Grapes of Wrath. Read that one about 5 years ago. As a teen, I loved Poe's poem "Alone". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 You know, books I read as a child or young teen have really stayed with me. I think I read them over and over until they became part of me. Did anyone else do that? I mean,I read the Little House books so often I can tell you just about anything about them. I also reread Witch of Blackbird Pond and A Little Princess over and over and over. I never really thought about why--perhaps because I did "find myself" in them? I know I desperately needed evidence of happy endings. I could only find them in books. Life wasn't "that bad." I'm not sure why I perceived it to be so. I did that too. Anne of Green Gables is one that springs to mind. Still love Gilbert Blythe, sigh. I think some books speak to where you are or what you need at a certain time in your life. Atlas Shrugged was an important book for me. Not that I agree with it all but it was the book that got me interested in studying philosophy, Econ and politics. So while I wouldn't say the book defines me, it is important because it started me on a certain path. On the other hand, there are several books I couldn't stand as a kid - The Hobbit and LOTR - that are now some of my favorites. Ages and stages I guess. I keep trying to like Hemingway. Hills Like White Elephants is about all the Hemingway I can take. Perhaps when I hit a new stage in life I will be able to appreciate his writing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 There were / are so many books. As a child I read a lot of the usual fare by Enid Blyton, Magda Trott, Julie Campbell, later L.M. Montgomery - all the Anne Books and Avonlea stories. The older I get the more I gravitate toward lighter entertainment and suspense. I suppose there is enough drama in real life, the news, work - I need a break while reading. Most well written books provide food for thoughts. Right now, I am buried in a Charlotte Link novel. I have read most of Anne Perry, Elizabeth Peters (if you need a laugh, this is the place to go coupled with suspense), Jane Austen, Dorothy L. Sayers, the Bronte Sisters, Little Women... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 There were / are so many books. As a child I read a lot of the usual fare by Enid Blyton, Magda Trott, Julie Campbell, later L.M. Montgomery - all the Anne Books and Avonlea stories. The older I get the more I gravitate toward lighter entertainment and suspense. I suppose there is enough drama in real life, the news, work - I need a break while reading. Most well written books provide food for thoughts. Right now, I am buried in a Charlotte Link novel. I have read most of Anne Perry, Elizabeth Peters (if you need a laugh, this is the place to go coupled with suspense), Jane Austen, Dorothy L. Sayers, the Bronte Sisters, Little Women... I agree. I find myself reading more non-fiction and lighter fiction than I read as an adolescent. In addition to those above I enjoy Dean Koontz, (although not all of his stuff is light enough for me these days), Nevada Barr, Lisa Lutz, and the occasional Baldacci. I also find myself falling into a comfortable place with children's and young adult lit. I have read, and enjoyed, as an adult Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Hoot, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, and so many others that we have explored as a family. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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