Recently on Facebook I was nominated to list 10 books that have stuck with me for some reason. I normally don't get involved with these types of things but I found this one was interesting. I enjoyed reading what my friends had to say and taking the time to wander through my book cases and review some of the books I have read throughout the years. It was like stopping by and saying hello to old friends I hadn't seen in a while. I spent three or for days, flipping through the pages and savoring some of my favorite passages
I actually forgot about the challenge for a few days while I visited my books... until a second friend challenged me, recalling me to my first reason for going through the books! I actually found this rather challenging, I learned to read very young in life (daughter of two educators) and since I learned how to read I was always eager to read more, learn more about the world around me and get lost in stories. Trying to pick just ten that stuck with me took quite a bit of thought and inner debating. Luckily one of my friends showed me a small cheat and added whole series as one entry, so I followed her lead to help me narrow down my choices. I selected these books because they either are books I have read over and over again, or are books that touched something within myself and changed the way I looked at the world.
10. Sherlock Holmes collection - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: This selection is purely entertainment value. I first picked up these around Grade 6 and instantly found myself transported to Victorian England. I loved the use of language, the descriptions of the setting of the story. The character of Holmes I actually found both ingenious and kind of funny. I still read these books and keep digital copies on my kindles (one on my phone one on my computer)
9. War of the Worlds - H.G Wells: I first read this book when I was a teenager and for about two or three weeks found myself constantly watching the skies. Now granted I knew there was no Martians in the sense of the book, I still knew that we didn't know what else was out there. Every year at least once or twice during the year my husband and I turn off all the lights, light some candles and listen to the 1938 radio broadcast.
8. Dracula - Bram Stoker: I actually never got around to this book until my last year of high school but when I read it I was hooked. Once again I loved the use of language, the vast sweeping descriptions in the book; I could almost see, hear and smell everything in the book. I found the book to be romantic and terrifying. I re-read it every few years and still am disappointed that I have never found a movie that fully follows the story line.
7. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - J.R.R Tolkien: I read this series after the first movie came out on DVD. I was still in high school, was babysitting for a family and let the kids pick the movie. They chose The Fellowship of the Ring. I was never all that into the Fantasy Genera before and so I rolled my eyes as I popped the movie into the player. Within minutes I was hooked and was furious when the movie ended. I ranted and raved for a few minutes about how they ended it before the story was over. The 8 year old girl turned, looked at me and said "It's a Trilogy... duh". The next day I told my dad about the movie and he told me it was a book trilogy first. I made him take me to chapters right away. I loved them, the storyline, the intricate creation of cultures and languages within the book, the fact that he had created a whole new world, was AMAZING! After this I might have to reread the books again... then have a marathon.
6. 1984 - George Orwell: This book I first had to read in high school and I am not going to lie... I barely read it. We had to read three novels that year and read the Shakespearian play Macbeth. I was way more into the play than I was with 1984 so I speed read through it well enough to get a good grade. In university I had to read it again and after having a few more years under my belt I was able to fully understand George Orwell`s genius commentary on 1950`s society. I also found it frightening because I could still see something like it happening to this day.
5.The Earth Children Series (1st four books) - Jean M. Auel: I first started reading these books in high school, my dad had the first four of the series on his bookshelf for years as a kid and when I was younger I would pull them down and look at the pictures on the front and flip to the maps and drawings. When I finally read them I loved them. They were rich and descriptive and brought to life pre-history for me. I actually still enjoy reading about archeology and archeological theories on prehistory because of the interest this series developed in me. It was also the first books I had ever read where the religion was based on a female deity. It opened up some new ideas in my mind that would eventually lead me to begin researching various religions.
4. The Avalon Series - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson: I haven`t read all of the books yet, but I have read The Mists of Avalon, the Lady of Avalon, Ancestors of Avalon and the Ravens of Avalon. I read the Lady of Avalon while I was working at a summer camp and loved it! And in the Mists of Avalon the mixing of Fantasy and history while telling the story from the perspective of women was enchanting to me. Plus it was a whole new way of looking at the story which really appealed to me.
3.The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz. This series I read shortly after I finished university. I found the whole series really helpful in navigating the world. I was in the process of rebuilding myself after some personal trauma. In summary the agreements are: Be Impeccable with Your Word, Don't Take Anything Personally, Don't Make Assumptions and Always do Your Best. These ideas have followed me in life and have really served me well.
2. The Spiral Dance - Starhawk - While not my first book on paganism it was amongst my books and was the most influential. The poetic language, the passion for social justice, the idea of the benefit of a Goddess for both men and women were all beautiful to me. It was the first book that really made the idea of magic and ritual make sense to me. Before that I read the rituals with no idea why the hell anyone would want to perform them. With her book I felt empowered to try her rituals and then my own, and to find the divine in my own way.
1. The Diary of Anne Frank - Anne Frank - I read this book years ago. It was actually not a required reading for me at the time, my dad had a copy of the book for his class (being a teacher's daughter does have perks since teachers always have lots of books) so I borrowed it over the summer to read. This was my first introduction to the horror of the Holocaust. In all the years of my research and studies into WWII and the Holocaust this book, along with the survivor stories, really helped me to understand the human toll that oppression, hatred and bigotry takes.
So there you have it, the top ten books that have stuck with me for several year. I hope you have enjoyed this trip down memory lane with me, I certainly enjoyed bringing it to you. Now if you will excuse me, the book self beckons...
Yours humbly
The Redneck Pagan
I actually forgot about the challenge for a few days while I visited my books... until a second friend challenged me, recalling me to my first reason for going through the books! I actually found this rather challenging, I learned to read very young in life (daughter of two educators) and since I learned how to read I was always eager to read more, learn more about the world around me and get lost in stories. Trying to pick just ten that stuck with me took quite a bit of thought and inner debating. Luckily one of my friends showed me a small cheat and added whole series as one entry, so I followed her lead to help me narrow down my choices. I selected these books because they either are books I have read over and over again, or are books that touched something within myself and changed the way I looked at the world.
10. Sherlock Holmes collection - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: This selection is purely entertainment value. I first picked up these around Grade 6 and instantly found myself transported to Victorian England. I loved the use of language, the descriptions of the setting of the story. The character of Holmes I actually found both ingenious and kind of funny. I still read these books and keep digital copies on my kindles (one on my phone one on my computer)
9. War of the Worlds - H.G Wells: I first read this book when I was a teenager and for about two or three weeks found myself constantly watching the skies. Now granted I knew there was no Martians in the sense of the book, I still knew that we didn't know what else was out there. Every year at least once or twice during the year my husband and I turn off all the lights, light some candles and listen to the 1938 radio broadcast.
8. Dracula - Bram Stoker: I actually never got around to this book until my last year of high school but when I read it I was hooked. Once again I loved the use of language, the vast sweeping descriptions in the book; I could almost see, hear and smell everything in the book. I found the book to be romantic and terrifying. I re-read it every few years and still am disappointed that I have never found a movie that fully follows the story line.
7. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - J.R.R Tolkien: I read this series after the first movie came out on DVD. I was still in high school, was babysitting for a family and let the kids pick the movie. They chose The Fellowship of the Ring. I was never all that into the Fantasy Genera before and so I rolled my eyes as I popped the movie into the player. Within minutes I was hooked and was furious when the movie ended. I ranted and raved for a few minutes about how they ended it before the story was over. The 8 year old girl turned, looked at me and said "It's a Trilogy... duh". The next day I told my dad about the movie and he told me it was a book trilogy first. I made him take me to chapters right away. I loved them, the storyline, the intricate creation of cultures and languages within the book, the fact that he had created a whole new world, was AMAZING! After this I might have to reread the books again... then have a marathon.
6. 1984 - George Orwell: This book I first had to read in high school and I am not going to lie... I barely read it. We had to read three novels that year and read the Shakespearian play Macbeth. I was way more into the play than I was with 1984 so I speed read through it well enough to get a good grade. In university I had to read it again and after having a few more years under my belt I was able to fully understand George Orwell`s genius commentary on 1950`s society. I also found it frightening because I could still see something like it happening to this day.
5.The Earth Children Series (1st four books) - Jean M. Auel: I first started reading these books in high school, my dad had the first four of the series on his bookshelf for years as a kid and when I was younger I would pull them down and look at the pictures on the front and flip to the maps and drawings. When I finally read them I loved them. They were rich and descriptive and brought to life pre-history for me. I actually still enjoy reading about archeology and archeological theories on prehistory because of the interest this series developed in me. It was also the first books I had ever read where the religion was based on a female deity. It opened up some new ideas in my mind that would eventually lead me to begin researching various religions.
4. The Avalon Series - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson: I haven`t read all of the books yet, but I have read The Mists of Avalon, the Lady of Avalon, Ancestors of Avalon and the Ravens of Avalon. I read the Lady of Avalon while I was working at a summer camp and loved it! And in the Mists of Avalon the mixing of Fantasy and history while telling the story from the perspective of women was enchanting to me. Plus it was a whole new way of looking at the story which really appealed to me.
3.The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz. This series I read shortly after I finished university. I found the whole series really helpful in navigating the world. I was in the process of rebuilding myself after some personal trauma. In summary the agreements are: Be Impeccable with Your Word, Don't Take Anything Personally, Don't Make Assumptions and Always do Your Best. These ideas have followed me in life and have really served me well.
2. The Spiral Dance - Starhawk - While not my first book on paganism it was amongst my books and was the most influential. The poetic language, the passion for social justice, the idea of the benefit of a Goddess for both men and women were all beautiful to me. It was the first book that really made the idea of magic and ritual make sense to me. Before that I read the rituals with no idea why the hell anyone would want to perform them. With her book I felt empowered to try her rituals and then my own, and to find the divine in my own way.
1. The Diary of Anne Frank - Anne Frank - I read this book years ago. It was actually not a required reading for me at the time, my dad had a copy of the book for his class (being a teacher's daughter does have perks since teachers always have lots of books) so I borrowed it over the summer to read. This was my first introduction to the horror of the Holocaust. In all the years of my research and studies into WWII and the Holocaust this book, along with the survivor stories, really helped me to understand the human toll that oppression, hatred and bigotry takes.
So there you have it, the top ten books that have stuck with me for several year. I hope you have enjoyed this trip down memory lane with me, I certainly enjoyed bringing it to you. Now if you will excuse me, the book self beckons...
Yours humbly
The Redneck Pagan
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