Jill created a list today of books on her blog and left a note for me to add one of my own here.  When I read Jill's list it was interesting to see how many favorite books we have in common.  When she tagged me, I was kind of excited in the way that only an overachiever can be and have been thinking about my list all day.  In thinking about which books I'd add to my list and why... I realized just how revealing this exercise is.  This list says a lot about who I am, where I've been and the stages through which my life has passed.



One Book that Changed My Life
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
This was my first John Irving book, which can change the way you read anyway, but it changed me in other ways that had nothing with literary impact.  It was through this book that Sevda and I became friends.  From Sevda's friendship with Kathy grew one of my own.  Through Sevda I started working at Varitronics.  It is at Varitronics that I met Marty.  If not for this book, I am certain that my life would not have taken it's current course.

One Book that I Reread
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus.
I first read this book about seven years ago and have reread it a few times since.  It is historical fiction, which is one of my favorite kinds of books to read. 

One Book I Would Have with Me on a Deserted Island
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
This might be the only thing that would force me to ever finish this book and make my way through all of the complicated names and themes.

One Book that Made Me Cry
Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage by Madeleine L'Engle.
Years ago I picked up this book at some kind of sale - garage, flea market, book sale, I can't remember anymore.  I selected it because L'Engle's time trilogy were some of my childhood favorites.  It's been so long since I read this book, but I remember being very moved by the memoir of her marriage.

One Book I Wish I Had Written
I'm not sure that there are any books that I've really enjoyed that I can imagine myself actually writing.  Many times my favorite books include stories that are nothing like my actual experience.  But if I could write anything(despite my experience), I'd be proud to have written any of these: Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins, In Search of Our Mother's Gardens by Alice Walker, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik, Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt, Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga, Beach Music by Pat Conroy, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

One Book I Wish Had Never Been Written
Celestine Prophecy by Who Cares.

One Book I'm Reading Now
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards.

One Book I'm Planning to Read
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.