My Favorite Books, A to Z

 

If you’re a writer, you’re a reader. My passion for books began with the first ones I read as a kid, and before I was ten I decided to become a writer.

The new Thursday blog involves the famous twenty-six letters again, this time with a specific focus. Thousands of books I’ve read but millions more beckon. I have favorites in all categories and a to-read list without end. (Actually, that’s a good thing.) Each week I’ll choose a book I’ve read whose title begins with that week’s letter of the alphabet. The first significant word will count for book choices, the words a, an, the, and, to, in, or by getting bypassed. I’ll stick with fiction but all genres are up for consideration.

Each post will feature a short synopsis of the book and identify why it was selected, maybe highlight a favorite phrase or moment. You’ll learn about the main character, but I won’t spoil the endings for you. These are the books that fostered passion in me, made me not only want to be a writer, but to write like the authors whose books I loved. Some I read when I was a kid, others were college requirements, a few were random choices or referrals, many are classics, several may be new to you. Most I’ve read more than once, some, multiple times. Each book left an impression as enduring as my social security number but far more intriguing. They identify something about me, but you’ll have to guess what it might be.

These books seduced me with the written word. Passages locked me in awe mode, and I reread them as they burned into my soul. They showed me how to write. They taught me how to see the world via a universal lens or intimate perspective. They presented history and hobbies, friendship and families, close communities and distant countries, lives in the constellations, worlds in the raindrops. I read about people as crazy as me and some even crazier, about heroes, fools, leaders, tyrants, and worker bees. Some books helped me grow up, others helped me maintain my child’s sense of wonder. Many endorsed my belief in God, others challenged me to find any good in the world and to ask where God was hiding. Each impacted me in meaningful ways, each a book to remember.

This is meant to be an interactive reading experience. I hope you’ll participate by sharing your own favorite books for each letter. See you here on September 1 when I’ll reveal A is for … Oops, you’ll just have to come back then.

Meanwhile, my Monday posts will enlighten you with a variety of topics, and they only ask for about five minutes of your reading time.

From my chair where the ink runs freely and the comment box entreats you to state your position, I send you a week of speculation.

What will I choose?

What will you?

 

 

 

Image courtesy: Google images public domain