Recently, on Facebook, several people have been talking about
ten books
that have made a lasting impact on their lives.
They don’t have to be fine literature,
classics, or “deep reads”.
Just 10 books that stayed with you or shaped your life.
Instead of doing this on Facebook, I thought it would be fun to do here.
However, in the interest of being interesting, :-)
I will only do 5 books.
1. The Dick and Jane Books:
These are the books that I learned how to read with.
I remember sitting at a table in Mrs. Wickham’s 1st grade class,
pouring over these books,
feeling wonder and awe as the letters came together and started to form words.
I could feel the magical world of books coming alive at that time!
Who knew that all these jumbles of letters would take me through so many time periods,
introduce me to so many interesting people
and take me on journeys to far-away lands I could never afford to visit?
Dick and Jane began this adventure for me!
2. Pippy Longstocking
Pippy lived the life that I was too afraid to live at the time.
She was adventuresome.
She was brave.
She didn’t care what people thought of her.
She was rich.
She had a pet monkey.
And she could do what she wanted, whenever she wanted.
And, didn’t we all wish to wear braids that stuck straight out from our head?
Heck yes!
3. Laura Ingalls Wilder Series
Can you see a pattern here?
Another strong, female character that wore braids!
Hummm…
I must have been a very timid child, longing for adventures.
I loved that Laura got to live on the land,
and run freely through the meadows.
The thought of a “dug-out” for a house was both
enthralling and repulsive to me.
To be surrounded by all that dirt….
Can you imagine the bugs?
Confrontations with Native Americans were also exciting and terrifying to me.
And the blizzards where Pa had to hang on to a rope, or he’d get lost going to the barn…
oh, it was so dangerous, cold and unimaginable.
I still think of this when a big snow storm hits or we see a dug-out along the highways in Montana.
Thank you, Laura, for teaching me what this is!
4. Jane Eyre
This was probably one of the first “classics” that I ever read.
I thought it would be sweet, romantic and beautiful,
which is how I envisioned that time period.
I wasn’t planning on living through the horror of Jane’s abusive childhood.
I thought she would be beautiful, not plain looking.
I wasn’t planning on Rochester being so gruff.
What sold me on the book was Jane’s integrity.
Her moral character that was imbedded deep into her soul.
Even though I knew it was wrong, I wanted her to run away with Rochester!
True love conquers all!! Right?
WRONG!!
Your ability to love yourself and look at yourself in the mirror is the most important.
Jane taught me that.
5. Ann Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
I read this for the first time in Jr. High.
When I read it the first time and every reading since,
I hope and pray the ending changes.
I pray that I’ll get to that last chapter and it will have all been a terrible dream,
that it was just an amazing/horrible work of fiction.
To this day, I cannot wrap my brain around the horror of living life
as a Jewish person during that terrible time.
I cannot imagine being a girl her age, living her life in hiding…in an attic.
Every time I read it, I’m thankful for the simple things:
fresh air, good food, freedom, security
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I find it difficult to only stop at 5 books.
Maybe another entry, another day, I will write about 5 more books that have changed/shaped my life.
I love books.
