MY FAVORITES

Some have asked me to share my favorite books. Why anyone would care, I don't know. Fulfilling the request is both challenging and humbling. Someone once said, "Tell me what you read, and I shall tell you what you are."

As I have written before, we had no books at home because of a tight budget. The first contact I had with books was in school. Those were the days of classroom libraries which were filled with out-of-date textbooks and cast-offs from publishers. So the pickings were slim. The first book I really remember getting into was BLACK BEAUTY by Anna Sewell. It was a book about animal abuse before animal abuse was really a cause. Susan Jeffers did a beautiful picture book of it several years ago, but the one I remember had no pictures, untrimmed pages and an ugly green binding.

Perhaps my love of reading stems from the days when the cupboard was bare. But I am now like Nicholas Barker who wrote, "When people ask, Do you collect books? I always say, No, books collect me." For the next few days, I will put out my lists of favorites divided into genres. Those who compare the list with their own must remember that we all have different interests. My lists show my interests in reading, education, art, biographies, spiritual formation and young adult books. I might even try to do a list of favorite children's books.


FICTION: (I read very little fiction, except mysteries)

Alcott, Louisa May. LITTLE WOMEN
Bradbury, Ray. FAHRENHEIT 451
Brooks, Geraldine. YEAR OF WONDERS--the newest book on this list. About the bubonic
plague and a very Christ-like decision made by a small town during the plague
Karon, Jan. Any of her Mitford series
Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER (young adult)
NUMBER THE STARS (young adult)
Maclachlan, Patricia. SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL (chapter book)
Paulsen, Gary NIGHTJOHN (young adult)
WINTERDANCE--one of the funniest books I have ever read. Paulsen
decides to enter the Iditarod. His adventures with the dogs are hilarious.

And three of the great American novels:

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. THE SCARLET LETTER. This was the first novel I taught to an
high school English class. We all loved it.
Lee, Harper. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD--The scene where Scout learns to read is
wonderful
Twain, Mark. HUCKLEBERRY FINN--again, a favorite book to teach.