15 Books

Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends came up with (I'll tag people once this goes to Facebook from Blogger).

1. Hitchhiker's Guide the Galaxy Trilogy - Douglas Adams Discovered these in high school and immediately fell in love with his humor and way of thinking...helped me to start thinking outside the box and fueled my desire to write myself.

2. Last Chance to See - Douglas Adams
Read this one after college and it grabbed me from the start. His humor and horror at the way humans treat the world and the other beings in it helped me to see how much we need to change our ways.

3. Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak
This book just sticks in my brain from childhood...I think it was one of the first times I realized you can get a bit scared by a book.

4. Ishmael - Daniel Quinn
This book helped me to visualize and express all the things I already knew about the world and just hadn't be able to put into words or pictures. It changed my life and I highly recommend it to anyone.

5. The Shining - Stephen King
I am a huge Stephen King fan, have been since jr high, and this book will always hold a place in my mind because it was really the first full novel I read of his and it scared me to death.

6. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
Was turned onto this series in 3rd grade and loved everyone one of them. Own them and read them over and over again.

7. The Griffin and Sabine Series - Nick Bantock
Discovered these books the night before heading to Japan the first time and they started me down a postcard road that I have not returned from, thankfully.

8. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
Read this in highschool and just felt like the author knew what was in my heart.

9. A Wrinkle In Time - Madeline L'Engle
Had this book read to me in 4th grade by Ms Capp and couldn't stop until I read the entire series...I think it inspired the science side of me as well.

10. Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Read this book a few years ago and decided that one person can make a difference.

11. Contact - Carl Sagan
Another one that inspired me to look at the world differently and also pushed me towards science.

12. Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein
Read this in jr high, I believe, and fell in love with his version of the world.

13. Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume
My favorite young adult author, read everything she wrote and really related to the characters at a time when all girls are feeling very awkward.

14. The Lorax - Dr. Seuss
My first inkling of environmentalism...I was so saddened by the destruction of the land and trees.

15. The Salmon of Doubt - Douglas Adams
Finished after Douglas Adams died, but has some great insight to his life and beliefs, and made me think outside the box once again.

So there you go, they aren't all the deepest books but they all affected who I am today and the interests I have in science, the environment, volunteerism, and in writing.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Final Draft