growyourwings | A Book Meme! (Reply)

Found via nilchance, a book meme - Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

I did a few more than 15. I could not whittle the list down. Plus this was very interesting as I thought to go check my buying history on Amazon. It goes back to 1999! It was really interesting to see the phases of interests I went through. Some very interesting, some very embarrassing!

My list of books - In no order of importance - just as I thought of them.

	Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell What can I say? I fell in love with this book in 7th grade and must have read it 10 times that year. It led to my first actor crush--Clark Gable. I loved Scarlett. I wanted to be Scarlett; not the selfish part of her, but the feisty, independent, rebellious part of her.
	The Shining by Stephen King This was the first ever horror book I read. When I was about 13 or 14 years old. I could NOT put this book down. I also had IT by Stephen King on my "most memorable" list. That book is memorable because it was the first ever book I had to stop reading because it was scaring the HELL out of me. I mean I could hardly even bring myself to use the bathroom for days. I had to stop reading Stephen King after that because he is JUST TOO DAMN GOOD at what he does.
	Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut I went through a Kurt Vonnegut phase when I was about 15 or 16. This is the book of his I remember the best. During this same timeframe I was really into George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. And yes I went through a time of love with Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged (don't hate on me!)
	Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons You see when I grew up comic books were The Archies (which I loved btw, heh.) When the new adult-oriented graphic novels started increasing in popularity in the 80s I was too involved with RL and also likely shrugged them off as "comic books." Then I got Watchmen because of JDM being cast in the movie. Man oh man. I LOVED this book. It was my second exposure to a graphic novel (see Sandman below). I was stunned by how much richer the reading experience was for me with the inclusion of graphics. Plus the composition of those graphics add yet again a whole new dimension to graphics themselves. This book (and Sandman) definitely stand as pivotal for me in my exploration/discovery of myself in terms of what truly interests me.
	The Absolute Sandman by Neil Gaiman I'm not even sure I have the words to express what this book means to me. I only discovered it a couple of years ago. And it was totally accidental. I ordered it online through Amazon based solely on the number of consistent 5 star recommendations it had. It had A LOT. I got to it's Amazon page through links like "based on your buying history, you might like this..." I didn't even know ANYTHING about it. Never had heard of Neil Gaiman. Didn't even realize it was a graphic novel. This was before I'd read Watchmen above. When the package came in the mail I was stunned. Simply stunned. The artwork was out-of-this-world amazing. So rich. So textured.
	John Adams by David McCullough I went through a biography phase a few years ago. This was one of the first of those books. It's memorable to me because it read like a biography but had a kinda "Ken Burns" method of telling you about the person. It didn't feel dry and I felt like I really knew who John Adams was a person, not as a famous, historical figure.
	Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life by Richard Meryman About 10ish years ago I went through an intensive drawing phase. I got into biographies of a few artists (Picasso is the other biography I remember reading during this phase.) There's something about Andrew Wyeth, I'm not sure I can really explain what, that just absolutely fascinates me. His work and his life story. It draws me in a very viscural way. In a somber way as well. I have three Wyeth prints framed over our bed. They really aren't my "normal" preference or style. But Wyeth is something special for me.
	Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson I have one word to describe my love of this book. Einstein. 'nuff said. (except I loved this book.)
	Life's That Way by Jim Beaver I can't remember the last time I was so moved by a book. I don't know if my including this book on this list is more because I feel like I know Jim Beaver (which I know I don't) or just how moving it is. It will always have a special place in my heart for many reasons.
	From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg I cannot believe I almost FORGOT to list this book. This book was read out loud to me in my 6th grade class. The same year I bought it myself to read for myself. It's a story of a brother and sister who get locked in a museum and end up discovering something very mysterious about a piece of work by Michelangelo. Love, love, love this book. Just repurchased it a few years ago to re-read it. And yes, it's a young adult book. Don't care. Love.
	The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone Speaking of.... This book has a very special place in my heart as well. I loved reading the "fictionized" version of Michelangelo's life. I'm currently re-reading this book right now. Found it in a box in our attic as I was going through stuff to put in the garage sale.
	Mysterious Island by Jules Verne And I REALLY cannot believe I almost forgot this book. I really wanted to find an image of the paperback book cover of the version I owned for so many years. Since I was a young child. I re-read this book so many times that the cover fell off and it started to fall apart. I almost cried the day I had to throw it away. I remember when I first saw a commercial for the show Lost. I was drawn to it for two reasons....One...Dom ('nuff said)...and Two...all I could think was that it reminded me of this book. The idea of people stranded on an island, needing to figure out how to survive, figuring out how to work with each other AND something vaguely supernatural/mysterious showing up about said island. Hooks me any time.
	Contact by Carl Sagan Carl Sagan is one of my idols. Plus I've read just about every book he ever wrote. If only he'd been my Jr. High science teacher I might not have thought that science was as boring as hell (except for physics.) To me Carl represents this wonderful blending of true science and wonderment bordering on the mystical. (Which is the same thing that attracts me to Einstein. I've read this book so many times. I was so excited when I heard they were making a movie of it. AND with Jodie Foster. While I did enjoy the movie, I was also disappointed. It really didn't do it justice.
	Cosmos by Carl Sagan I remember watching Cosmos when it first aired on PBS. Again, 'nuff said.
	Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan God how I loved this book in Jr. High. (or was it early high school? no matter.) I read it so many times. I mean, speculations on the evolution of human intelligence? Loved it.
	Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein I discovered this book in college (first time around college, not my more recent experience.) It triggered a reading spree through decades of classic SciFi novels of the more well known SciFi authors. This book was the trigger for that reading spree--which is why it's on this list. Plus I just really, really loved the stories. Plus this is where one of my most favorite words ever was coined--grok.
	American Gods by Neil Gaiman A more current love.
	Good Fairies, Bad Fairies by Brad Froud Almost forgot! I fell in love with this book and others like it because of the texture, feel, and intricacy of the artwork. Such as these (click for bigger):
	The Source by James Michener I read a lot of Michener's books when they first came out. Loved most of them. Loved his style of going back to the utmost beginning of any story. This book in particular stood out for me because of the way it covered the "triad" of religions - Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Both from the historical perspective and from the personal perspective of three of the main characters. How it highlighted what conflicted them as well as how much they had in common and their common roots. Plus it features archaeology which has always fascinated me. I should really re-read this book.

ETA: Guys? Based on this list of books there's NO reason in the world why I would be in love with SHOW, right? *sarcasm* I'm still surprising myself by all this recall of my early interests in life. How the heck did I lose track of all that?