15 Books Meme

[amberfocus]

Snagged from half the f-list:

Rules: 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.

A lot of these books were read during my childhood and teenage years, but they've stayed in my mind for 20 to 30 years.  Enough so that I read them to my children when they were old enough.  That's staying power.  For that reason I'm going to change the meme a bit and add what age I read them at, because I thought it was interesting how it falls.  In no particular order:

01.   Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden (middle 30's)

02.   Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear (middle 30's)

03.   Why Have the Birds Stopped Singing? by Zoa Sherburne (11)

04.   Lord of the Flies by William Golding (14)

05.   To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (15)

06.   Pandora’s Star by Peter F. Hamilton  (middle 30's)

07.   Watership Down by Richard Adams (12)

08.   Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey (12)

09.   The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner (9)

10.   Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon (late 20's)

11.   The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (early 30's)

12.   The Secret Horse by Marion Holland (9)

13.   Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (20's)

14.   Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene (13)

15.   Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (9)

Comments

[jlrpuck.livejournal.com]

"To Kill a Mockingbird"--*such* an amazing book.

As for "Summer of My German Soldier"? *sob*

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Mocking Bird really is an incredibly written story. It's so vivid and it brought home to me for the first time the reality of prejudice. Growing up in a Pacific NW town with only three black kids in the school with me, we did not see this kind of prejudice. Oh, there was some, but those kids were really well liked by almost everyone. That book really made me see it as a reality. And yeah, German Soldier always makes me sob my eyes out.

[ageless-aislynn.livejournal.com]

Ooo, what a cool meme! *covertly snags* ;) Of course, I have notoriously pedestrian tastes on a good day so I may not want to reveal my list of most memorable books once I see what ones are going to be on there, lol! ;)

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Well, these are the ones that stuck with me. I have to say I've read my fair share of Danielle Steele and Jude Devereaux, as well as Piers Anthony and Lee Martin. Not exactly high brow reading, but maybe that's why they didn't jump into my head. I tend to not much care for the older classics. Just not my cup of tea. Though I do love Shakespeare but I don't count plays as books.

[maniacalshen.livejournal.com]

I actually really enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird when we read it in school; I still have it. Lord of the Flies less so; I sold that one to the used book store. XD But it was alright. Certainly waaaay better than Catcher in the Rye.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Well, the meme says books that stuck with you, not necessarily books you enjoyed. Lord of the Flies stuck with me because it really is about how quickly society can devolve into such evilness and how bad human nature can make things get. I don't think I'll ever forget it.