OK, first of all, I have to say I really don't like this sort of question. I prefer the kind you can ruminate on a bit. But this week's
BTT topic asks us to do some quick thinking:
This can be a quick one. 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.
And I guess if I'm going to play the game, I should follow the rules. So here are fifteen books that will "stick with me" forever. They're not necessarily my fifteen
favorite books – just fifteen that made a significant impression. Many of them are books I read as a child – those early reading experiences are always some of the most enduring, I guess. Most of them I've read more than once. Oh, and I've listed them in
alphabetical order – I couldn't possibly rank them in any other way.
- Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Lewis Carroll (I can't separate these two)
- Brave New World. Aldous Huxley
- The Catcher in the Rye. J.D. Salinger
- The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody. Will Cuppy
- Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain
- Little Women. Louisa May Alcott
- Lonesome Dove. Larry McMurtry
- Orlando. Virginia Woolf
- Please Don't Eat the Daisies. Jean Kerr
- Rebecca. Daphne DuMaurier
- The Ship That Flew. Hilda Lewis
- Some Tame Gazelle. Barbara Pym
- Tales of Edgar Allan Poe
- The Turn of the Screw. Henry James
- Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte
Given another fifteen minutes, I could come up with fifteen more. In fact, I have a whole blog post about many of the books that will "always stick" with me –
my "top ten" list. Since I wrote it a couple of years ago, I've read several more books that could be added to the list. Maybe it's time for the revised edition.
Now that I am done, I can think of many others! How could I forget Lonesome Dove?
ReplyDeleteI love Henry James!
ReplyDeleteI didn't double up on any titles on your list, but would have included Alice in Wonderland and Little Women if the list could have been longer.
ReplyDeleteYour list is a whole lot more intellectual than mine!! And I forgot "Little Women". I was trying not to think about childhood books only but it seems those are the ones that stay with us, doesn't it -- or at least the ones you read as a young person whether they are "children's books" or not.
ReplyDeleteIt sure is fun doing this. I can see a lot of titles so popular with readers!
ReplyDeleteStuck forever and ever!
Great selections! Here is mine:http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2009/06/booking-through-thursday-books-that.html
ReplyDeleteI loved Wuthering Heights. Great list!
ReplyDeleteI loved Please Don't Eat the Daisies and Rebecca. Would you believe Wuthering Heights is still on my TBR list? Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to get to Orlando. Here's mine.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on The Catcher in the Rye and The Turn of the Screw, which I considered when I compiled my list. They were close.
ReplyDeleteI have never read Rebecca...it seems to be very very popular this week!
My full list.
I loved Wuthering Heights, too.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine:
http://1morechapter.com/2009/06/04/btt-sticky/
Little Women would definitely be on my list too.
ReplyDeleteI had Rebecca too!
ReplyDeleteLonesome Dove is the only one on your list I've read and I loved it!
ReplyDeleteLittle Women has always been on my must read list.
ReplyDeleteMy BTT is here
I found that childhood books came to mind easily as well. Maybe because the ones that I owned and really liked I read over and over again; as an adult I haven't re-read many books (except the ones from childhood :) ). It's always hard to limit this sort of thing; I could have come up with plenty more than 15 as well!
ReplyDeleteAlice In Wonderland was great! As was Little Women - Jo was my favorite fictional character for ages. I like to believe I am like her :)
ReplyDeleteHave got Catcher in mine, and Brave New World was really good.
I've only read Little Women from your list. Such a good book! :)
ReplyDeleteWe have no overlap but this is such a good list. Orlando and Rebecca would certainly have made their way on to a longer list. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of the books on your list in my TBR pile. Great list :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend!