I never liked literature anyway

[luxken27]

Ganked from all over LJ by this point. LOL, I never claimed to be well-read...but I do enjoy work that packs an emotional punch. Now with moar amazon links (for the interested!)

Don't take too long to think about it. List 15 books you've read that will always stick with you -- The first 15 you can recall in 15 minutes.

On Writing by Stephen King
Minx by Julia Quinn
Lover Awakened by JR Ward
The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Evil Twin (SVH #100) by Francine Pascal
Snowbound (BSC SS#7) by Ann M. Martin
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Surviving Schizophrenia by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey
Naked by David Sedaris
Go Ask Alice by anonymous
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi
Penmarric by Susan Howatch

Comments

[knittingknots.livejournal.com]

Yay for Flowers for Algernon and the Left Hand of Darkness....Helter Skelter was a pretty fascinating read in its own right...

[luxken27]

I cried over Flowers for Algernon...ugh! Emotional wallop, that's what that book was.

Helter Skelter scared the shit out of me in high school. I couldn't read it after dark because it was so creepy and intriguing - but it certainly has stuck with me all these years!

It was interesting to compile this list, because I can't say these are really my *favorite* books - just the ones that have fascinated me or changed me in some way. Who knew Facebook memes could be deep, LOL? :P

[psyco_chick32]

I cried over Flowers for Algernon...ugh! Emotional wallop, that's what that book was.

OMG Me too...
sooooo many tears!

[knittingknots.livejournal.com]

This one really is. I'm really well read, but the books I put down were mostly stories I discovered as a kid and in my teens (mostly SF/Fantasy) that have stuck with me all these years...and that I like a lot.

I didn't think to add non-fiction. There would have been several history and science books in there, too.

I discovered the novella form of Flowers for Algernon as a kid, and like you, it made me really sad.

But the scariest piece of fiction for me that I ever read was Harlen Ellison's "I have no Mouth and I must Scream" (the short story which was the basis for the Terminator movies). I read it when I was 10, too young for it, and that terror has stayed with me as an image all these years.

[luxken27]

I'm really well read, but the books I put down were mostly stories I discovered as a kid and in my teens (mostly SF/Fantasy) that have stuck with me all these years...and that I like a lot.

Since getting heavy into fandom, I don't read nearly as much for pleasure outside of fanfic as I used to. Sad, but true - although I guess its good to read anything anymore :P And yeah, I have a few comfort books from childhood scattered in there as well. What's a bit more amazing, to me at least, is how many of these books I originally read for a class and just fell in love with.

That would include exactly *none* of the nonfiction, BTW.

I didn't think to add non-fiction. There would have been several history and science books in there, too.

I'm not sitting with my library (only the manga sections of it that I had shipped over here :P) or else I suspect this list would've been a bit more diverse. But quite a bit of what's shaped my reading/writing world, what I get most passionate about, is nonfiction in nature.

The Minds of Billy Milligan haunted me for all those years it was out of print. Hard to believe the same guy who wrote Flowers for Algernon wrote that psychological masterpiece as well.

What I find interesting about this is that I literally wrote down the first 15 books that came to mind - only afterwards, when I went back through the links, did I notice a pattern in my choices. They're all somewhat experimental, focused on character or emotional development or problem-solving, and a couple of the fictional ones are in non-traditional form (epistles or journal entries). I think reading the summaries of these books gives a good portrait of what I try to accomplish with my own work.

Fancy that :P

[piratequeen0405.livejournal.com]

David Sedaris is in town this weekend and doing a reading at my favorite bookstore on Sunday. Can't wait!

[luxken27]

AUGH!!! I'm so jealous!! That's so cool...I <3 David Sedaris so, so hard. He's far and away my favorite essayist.

[piratequeen0405.livejournal.com]

Hugh's mom lives here. Unfortuantely I think it's going to be hot as crap that day. Just like last year when he was here.

Me Talk Pretty One Day is seriously the funniest thing I've ever read. The part when he was in France trying to learn the language had me dying.

[evadne-fenn.livejournal.com]

Dude! I cut my teeth on adult novels with Susan Howatch. I still remember Penmarric and Wheel of Fortune well. I think I also read Cashelmara too. My mom's favorite book of all time is Wheel of Fortune.

Snowbound BSC=the finest BSC super special.

[luxken27]

LOL, I think I read Cashelmara, too, but it wasn't as good as Penmarric. Those books definitely represent my thirst for saga-length epics, though...something about the interplay of family dynamics over generations is just delicious :D

And yeah, considering I spent most of my childhood reading series books, its only fair that the best BSC book (and the best SVH book) made it onto the list!

[madmiko.livejournal.com]

This is a great list of books! Where else but a meme like this would you find "Minx," "Crime and Punishment," and "Helter Skelter" on the same list? You know, I own all three of those and have read two of them multiple times. Care to guess which two? ^_~ I've said this on a couple of other people's journals, but I have to say it again: I really love getting to see which books my f-listers have listed for this considering we are all IY fans.

[luxken27]

I love Julia Quinn. She is my romance-writing hero (though some of her earlier work does leave a bit to be desired...). It's so cool to meet a fellow fan! (If, indeed, that is one the books you reread :P).

I have rather distinct tastes, I suppose, but as I said, I never claimed to be well-read (and I ran away from literary criticism pretty much from the first second I could, LOL). What I think is most interesting is that, at least for me, I couldn't call all of these books my favorites. Interesting how something so influential wouldn't also be among the most treasured, no?

[madmiko.livejournal.com]

Hehheh! Yep! That and "Helter Skelter" are the ones I have read more than once. I think I have most of her books, except for maybe the last 2 or 3. I thinks she's a great writer. I love humor in my romances and I love a historical setting, so her work definitely appeals to me.

It really is interesting that some of the books that might come to mind first or that we might consider influential in our lives and thought are not necessarily our favorites. I just made up my list a little bit ago here and while some of them are favorites, some are definitely not.