Book List

My sister Tammy tagged me on this list a while ago - I was in Norway and not keeping up on my blog, but couldn't wait to do this mem when I got home. I've had a long awhile to think about my books... here it goes. (Anyone else, feel free to answer these same book questions)

Books that changed my life:
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. My dear friend Kelly Bates gave me this book stating that everyone should read this book in their lifetime… and I would agree. It is basically a little fable about following your dreams and listening to your heart.

Books that I reread:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I read this book first in 8^th grade and can not even count how many times I’ve reread it (I used it in my English classes that I taught as well). No matter the time period, this speaks to all times and all generations. It was just recently voted my librarians across the country as the best novel of the 20^th century. Harper Lee… where did you go?

One book I would have with me on a stranded island:
I would hope to have a big fat book with me on a stranded island. I love reading, but I’m not a fast reader by any means, so hopefully I’d have something that would last me until I was rescued. I would want a book called Kristian Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, which is a Norwegian epic tale that follows a very passionate and willful woman in Viking Norway. It comes in at 1298 pages… and my mother in law has given me the book in Norwegian – so perhaps I would want that one with me as well… and I could flip back and forth between the two versions…. reading to learn Norwegian would keep me occupied for a while.

One book that makes me cry:
I’ve been known to cry at a book or two…. Leif has become very used to seeing me in bed, almost sobbing, I just hold up the book and he shakes his head and walks out… so here is my most recent tear jerker:
My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Maybe it hit me harder because I’m a parent… or because I’m a sister… or maybe just because I have a heart. But the story examines what it means to be good at those things – a parent, a sister, a person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child’s life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? I couldn’t stop putting my self and my kids into the situation… and I seriously could hardly stop crying the last few chapters.

One book that I wish I wrote:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling. I love her rags to riches story… to think she was writing that first book while her and her child were staying in a homeless shelter and now look at her success. But on top of that, how amazing to know that you’ve influenced so many children to pick up a book and read. She has totally opened the world of books to millions! Incredible.

One book that I wish I’d never read:
Ok, this is a harsh one… and I generally have a rule of 100…. I give a book 100 pages and if I’m not fully ‘entertained’ it’s gone. So I never finish a book I don’t like. I’ve read some really peculiar books (mostly in my Literature classes in college) that I would never recommend – so I’m changing the topic. Don’t bother reading:
Ulysses by James Joyce (I know, a classic) but dear god, what is going on?!?! I’m not crazy about reading such demanding novels, even if it is “the most important contribution made to fictional literature in the 20^th century.” YIKES
Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne – strange and endlessly complex. DOUBLE YIKES!!

One book I’m reading now:
I’m just finishing up The March by Geraldine Brooks. It is a story from the point of view of the absent father in Louisa May Alcott’s book Little Women. I love that classic, so it’s been interested to think of his side. Set during the Civil War, it’s a good book filled with the ache of love and marriage and with the power of war upon the mind and heart of an unforgettable man. It won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction – which I try to read the winner of that award each year.

One book I’m planning to read:
I have so, so many. If only I was a faster reader. These are my next two books in my cue:
The Empress – by Shan Sa. A historical novel of one of China’s most controversial historical figures: its first and only female emperor, Empress Wu, who emerged in the Tang Dynasty and ushered in a golden age.
The Boleyn Inheritance – by Philippa Gregory. Philippa Gregory is a master at historical fiction and I’ve read most of what she’s written. This one is a follow up book to The Other Boleyn Girl and returns to Henry VIII’s court (after Anne is executed)and is narrated by the three remaining women vying to be the next Queen.
I love historical novels… can you tell