There was a Facebook prompt at least a year ago that asked for you to list out your top ten books that you’ve read. You were to not to think about it, just cough them up. Well I thought about it and totally decided that my reading list was unworthy of all the real readers in the world.I stayed right away from that challenge.

But recently I started to remember some of the great books that made such a difference to me in my life. And I thought that I’d share them. Yes, I haven’t been reading anything but blogs since I had Fiona. Yes one day I hope to reunite with my old friend Reading. Until then, here’s the 11 best books I can remember reading. The ones that I remember and am grateful for making me fall in love with reading, and writing, as a young adult and an adult.

  1. To Kill A Mockingbird – read in 8th grade and became my favorite movie too2657
  2. Catcher In The Rye -Holden how I get you
  3. 1984 -That hair across the diary page, ahhhhh1984+orwell
  4. The Hobbit – Tolkein (read this twice) and yet never read the rest of them
  5. The Secret Life of Bees – Just such wonderful characters and storytelling
  6. She’s Come Undone – Wally Lamb (read it twice too)I couldn’t believe a man wrote thisshes come undone
  7. On Writing – Stephen King’s raw and honest book about his demons and his passion
  8. If You Want to Write by Brenda Euland – She was ahead of her time and so empowering
  9. Prodigal Summer – Barbara Kingsolver’s writing made me feel the Summer heat and lustprodigal summer
  10. Paradise Alley – Who knew historical fiction could be this fabulous. Character development galore and a great twist.
  11. Eat, Pray, Love – The beginning of my spiritual journeyeat pray love

I have read many books over the years. I was a huge Stephen King fan for a while. I’ve read fantasy and YA books. Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel series, the Sandman, as well as all his novels and kids books. I miss reading and so I’m ready to attempt reading this year again. That it’s a form of meditation itself that my brain desperately needs to make me feel whole again. Would you share with me your most influential books and why ?

If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

If you have any thoughts, please drop a word below in the comments. Or

Find and friend me on Instagram to view my daily pictures and art projects.

Find and Facebook friend me.

If you are interested in reading more of my thoughts on Creative Soul Living, place your name into the subscription box in the sidebar on the right and subscribe to my weekly posts delivered straight to your inbox.

And as always, thank you for your visit.

3 Comments

  1. I’d like to say the most influential books I’ve read are all high-falutin’ reads, but they’re not. Anyway, here, in no particular order, are the books that have stuck with me the longest:
    Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” – I’d never read anything that wasn’t American or British, but this grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. It was a stunning intro to an undergrad class on African lit.
    Joanne Harris’s “Blackberry Wine” – I love well-written dual timelines. The ending was so satisfying it actually made me cry. It taught me a lot about what I like in a novel, and what I want to incorporate in my own storytelling.
    Susanna Kearsley’s “The Winter Sea” – a dual timeline/historical romance. Re-reading it right now.
    Gene Farrington’s “The Blue Heron” – Another dual timeline/historical without the romance. Deep, universal themes woven within a fantastic text. A postmodern opus in a can’t-put-down package.

    1. Apparently you like the dual timeline historical romance genre. So is that what you are drawn to write? Thank you for reading anything I write Donna.
      Love,
      Shalagh

      1. Yes! I am intrigued by the interplay of two well-written timelines. The connections we can make between generations show universal aspects of human nature — our struggles, our triumphs — there’s no escaping the repeating loops between past and present even though, on the surface, our lives look so different from those of our forbears.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.