I was asked by Kailyn to list ten books that have stayed with me over the years (and not to overthink it, which I may or may not have done, so Im listing my Top 10 before I read hers). While its difficult to narrow the list to only ten while not overthinking, here goes: 1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein — This was the first book I read as a kid. I was 10 years old, and it was the catalyst in my evolution as a bibliophile. 2. Double Shot by Raymond Benson — My Aunt and Uncle bought me this James Bond adventure as a present (coincidentally, shortly after I finished reading The Hobbit). This book and the Goldeneye movie are to blame for my 007 collection. 3. Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone by Hunter S. Thompson (posthumously) — I read this in college in Spring 2012. It introduced me to Hunter Thompson (who is as influential to my journalistic beliefs as my J-School education) and his works. 4. True Blood by Charlaine Harris — My mom bought me this story when I was 11 or 12 years old because she knew I liked Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and this was the third book I read from cover to cover as a kid. (She didnt know, until the HBO series aired, what it was about.) 5. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri — I read it in college for personal interests. 6. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — I own the Barnes & Noble edition of the complete Sherlock Holmes stories. Its Sherlock, no further details needed. 7. Le Morte DArthur by Thomas Mallory — This is the original tale of King Arthur. I read it after a Merlin binge on Netflix. 8. Bringing Down the House (book) by Ben Mezrich — I read this in high school instead of paying attention to my AP Statistics class. 9. Allegiant by Veronica Roth — I read the Divergent trilogy before seeing the movie earlier this year, and I learned a valuable lesson as a writer by reading the series. 10. Animorphs by K.A. Applegate — I loved this series when I read it as a kid and through later years (much to my moms dismay). While Harry Potter and The Hunger Games trilogy influenced the lives of many of my friends, Animorphs got me first. Thats my list, and since I was tagged to do it Ill tag a few others. Sarah, Colten, Gage, Mike, Madden, Sauter, Heidi, Amanda, Colter, Daniel, Duffin, Brixey, Clyde, Kaercher, and Lisa. As Kailyn explained: Just give the names of the books or tell a story. Its up to you. Write what feels right, if you like.Theres no pressure or hard feelings if you dont want to participate.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 21:32:31 +0000