What's On My Bookshelf

I am about three years old and it is bedtime. I’m all scrubbed and buttoned into my Dr. Dentons snuggling next to my mother who has been reading Alice in Wonderland to me. “Soup, soup of the evening,” she sings when she gets to the Mock Turtles song. I am hooked.

          I was reading on my own just a couple of years later, again, thanks to my mother. She taught me how to sound words out – syllable by syllable, which I picked up on quickly and was soon able to read simple stories. I’ve been a “bookworm” ever since.

          Which is why I’m a writer! I can spend hours lost in the pages of a book with an engaging plot and characters to whom I can relate. I know what it is like to read the last few words with a feeling of satisfaction because I sense I have been changed somehow by reading that book.

          My dream since earliest childhood has been to write my own book. How amazing it would be to pass on that feeling of satisfaction to others. And so, I write. And of course, I read!

          A colleague recently advised that as writers we should write a lot more about reading than we do about writing. She is right! It’s wonderful to share something about why and how I write and the joys and frustrations of the writing life. I love reading about those things from fellow writers. But ultimately, I want to engage with people who love to read. People who, like me, have several bookshelves crammed with all sorts of books, including books they consider favorites.

          So, I perused my bookshelves and came up with an initial list of ten of my favorites. This is only an initial list of my favorite non-fiction books in no particular order. My hope is to share more lists of favorites from time to time. This is not an extensive book review, merely sharing something of why these books mean something to me.

1.     The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. The first thing I did when I moved to Chicago after grad school was take out a library card. I was still waiting for furniture to arrive as I lay on my sleeping bag on the floor of my studio apartment and read the trilogy in two days. I have read it many times since and would have to say these are my all-time favorite books. I am fascinated with the world that Tolkien created. It contains an epic battle between good and evil. It has a determined hero whose quest changes him as much as it changes the world. And it contains a message that is as relevant today as it was when the books were published.

2.    For similar reasons I love the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I had to read it after I saw it instill a love of reading in a recalcitrant pre-teen boy. He was so excited about reading them, he couldn’t wait for the next book to come out and that is something I pay attention to! I found myself enjoying it every bit as much. Engaging characters, a struggle between good and evil. A world that is so engagingly presented I really felt I was living in it. Another series I’ve read multiple times. The books were published after I went to Seminary – an experience I realized was an awful lot like going to Hogwarts!

3.    Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read this after having watched the movie starring Julia Roberts and, as usual, found the book even more engaging. I was moved by this heroine’s journey as she struggles to find true meaning in her life. I particularly appreciate her use of gentle humor which goes to show that spiritual quests can bring into your life people and experiences that make you smile.

4.    “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” by Tad Williams. I read “The Green Tower” which is Part III of this trilogy first. I found it so engaging I had to go back and read the first two books. I was drawn into the world of the book by the vivid descriptions of the places, in particular, and found it a satisfying read. The three books are on my shelf, and I will read them again.

5.    A Piece of the World and The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. I find the characters especially engaging in both works. I got interested in historical fiction when I took a course called “American History Through Fiction” my first semester in college and I have loved it ever sense. The skillful blending of real historical events and compelling characters caught and held my interest.

6.    Bullet in the Chamber by Johan DeDakis. There’s nothing like a good murder mystery or spy novel, especially one that takes place in the White House and whose protagonist is a gutsy White House reporter named Lark Chadwick. She’s who I want to be when I grow up! The plot is fast-paced and makes this book a real “page turner”. DeDakis was a Senior Copy Editor for CNN before becoming a novelist and he certainly uses that experience to enhance the storytelling.

7.    Anything by Anne Rice. I’ll admit it, every now and then I enjoy a good vampire story, of which Anne Rice is the master. Again, I get so drawn into the world she creates and am awed by the imagination that has gone into it. Yes, there’s a lot of darkness and violence but those things in her books are part and parcel because they are naturally part and parcel of life. I’ve never felt they were gratuitous. And it takes a lot of skill to make a vampire a compelling character!

8.    Anything by Stephen King. Most recently I read The Gunslinger and other parts of his The Dark Tower series. I continue to be amazed by the imagination that goes into the bizarre worlds he creates. Again, they are often dark, violent worlds but sometimes that’s part of life I need to engage with and how better to do that than by the works of a master storyteller.

9.    Big Trouble by Dave Barry. Humor is important in life, and nobody makes me laugh the way Dave Barry does. This book is a permanent resident of my bookshelf but any of his books or articles are hilarious. Yet his humor says something about the state of our world and that is what I most appreciate. The laughter gets mingled with tears sometimes because while I’m laughing, I realize he’s said something dead-serious about some aspect of our broken world that would be incredibly sad if he hadn’t framed it so outrageously.

10. The Far Side by Gary Larsen. My husband is a Gary Larsen fanatic and that brushed off on me. He says he appreciates the sarcasm and I agree. The zany humor makes me laugh but as I’m laughing, I suddenly realize I’ve been hit with a sharp bite of reality. That makes me think about whatever the cartoon is about and I really value that.