Hi ya, bookish friends! It was my birthday earlier this week (I’m 28 now, does that make me old?). And what better way to celebrate than to reflect on 28 of my favorite books that shaped my life so far.
Touching Darkness* by Scott Westerfeld - Y’all. This series. This wasn’t the series that made me love reading, but it is the series that made me realize just how much I could love reading. This series made me friends. It provided me comfort in times of grief.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara - Sometimes I like crying. It’s cathartic. It makes me feel human. And this book made me cry harder than I have ever cried while reading.
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny - This isn’t my favorite book by Louise Penny, but it is the first book by her that I read, and she is one of my favorite authors. I’ve met her at an author event (and still have a note she wrote me after that event) and have even taken time off work on a release day for one of her books. I may be obsessed. But…like…have y’all read about Three Pines? I want to move there immediately and eat my weight in Gabri’s pastries while I read through Myrna’s entire bookstore. Please advise on how I can make this happen.
Free Fall by Laura Anne Gilman - This is the fifth Retrievers novel and even though I was clearly already super invested in this series before its release, I remember this book’s release and I remember reading it at a somewhat stressful time in my life, and having a great installment in a favorite series to escape to when I was feeling overwhelmed was an absolute delight.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt - I am an absolute slut for dark academia, and this novel was the first time I realized that was a sub-genre in and of itself.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison - I read this book first in high school (where I didn’t appreciate its significance or its symbolism) and then again multiple times in college with one of my favorite professors. This book demonstrates for me the idea that learning is a lifelong endeavor, and that it is not only okay but should be encouraged to re-evaluate opinions when you have more information.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston - THIS IS MY COMFORT BOOK! (Also, a book I read during my own bi awakening, so Alex will always have a soft spot in my heart.)
Cross & Crown by Abigail Roux - This is another comfort book for me, and while I do think there probably needs to be continuing conversations about the implications of female authors writing m/m romances and whether that fetishizes LGBTQ+ men or not, I can’t deny that the combination of mystery, and friends-to-lovers romance, is something I truly enjoy.
Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsburg - My cat is named after Allen Ginsburg. And I also find the process of the beats to be truly inspiring. There is something so freeing in shedding societal expectations in pursuit of art and activism.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindedness by Michelle Alexander - I’m a public defender. I’m not a public defender because of this book, but its lessons stayed with me and continue to remind me why I do the work that I do, even on days when that work is incredibly challenging.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Graduating law school and preparing for the bar exam during a global pandemic is a surefire way to trigger a reading slump, even in the most ardent readers. This book dragged me out of that reading slump, and shortly after I started the Little Literary Moment blog.
On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss - So, I first read this book when I was in college, and then read it again at the beginning of the pandemic. Reading it that second time made me feel a little less alone at a time that was profoundly isolating, both because Biss lyrically explores a time of fear and illness in our nation’s/world’s history. It also brought me back to my time in college which remains my favorite era of life thus far.
Luster by Raven Leilani - This was the first review I ever posted on this blog. Sharing my love for books on the internet was a bit daunting for me, and this was the first time I was able to overcome that hurdle, leading me to do something that has brought me so much joy.
Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski - I grew up in an era that did not exactly encourage female sexuality or exploring one’s sexual preferences. I also grew up in an era (one that is honestly probably still going on) with egregiously poor sex ed. This is the kind of book I wish I had when I was first learning about sex and sexuality.
Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin - This is the first book I read when I first decided to explore faith paths different from the one I’d been on most of my life. I’m still on the pagan path now, and I credit Sabin’s work with creating a foundation that would encourage me to keep exploring.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I used to hate this book (before I even read it). When I was younger, my parents would watch the multi-part BBC version of Pride and Prejudice every Valentine’s day, and as a child, it was the most boring thing I could imagine. Little did I know that by high school, it would be one of my favorite books, and by adulthood, Jane Austen’s humor would be one of my favorite literary devices of all time.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh - FRIENDS! This is the first book I read with my monthly #readwithllm readalongs.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt - So many of the books on this list made the list not so much for the content of the book but for the community of readers the book helped me find. Tell the Wolves I’m Home is no exception. This was one of the first books I read when I joined a Goodreads book club, which was the first time I realized that such a vibrant bookish community existed online. I also bonded with my freshman year roommate over this book, because we both loved books that could make us cry.
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney - Have you ever read a book when an author just got it? Like, there was some sort of lived experience you had that you’d never heard anyone else articulate, and then suddenly, a random book did it better than you ever could? That’s how I felt about Conversations with Friends, related to mental health issues, period issues, and what it’s like being the child of an alcoholic.
Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris - This was one of the first dark academia books I read, the twist is incredible, and I read it with a few members of the first book club I ever joined. Good reads and good community…what more could you want?
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - This book symbolizes for me the idea that if I set my mind to something, I can do it. In eighth grade, we could get extra credit once a quarter if we did a book report. Right before the end of the quarter, I was reading a book where the main character read Madame Bovary. So, I decided that even though I had almost no time, I was going to read this novel in its entirety and complete a project about it. I got my extra credit.
Like You’d Understand, Anyway by Jim Shepard - I don’t remember much of this book (it’s a collection of short stories), but I do remember reading it as part of the work I did as a research assistant for one of my favorite English professors in college. This book reminds me that being a writer and a book lover can, in fact, be a career. And even though it’s not my career, I feel better knowing that we live in a world where that’s a possibility.
Looking for the Gulf Motel by Richard Blanco - I love that art, books in this instance, can be a form of activism.
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella - This is kind of an odd choice for this list, since I DNF’d it pretty early on. But, there was a period in my life where I would have forced myself to keep reading even though I didn’t enjoy it, just because I didn’t want to “give up” … so this marked my becoming more comfortable with DNF’ing and all its joys.
One Night with a Cowboy by Cat Johnson - I don’t believe in guilty pleasure books. If I did, perhaps my love of cowboy romances would fall into that category. But since I don’t, I just openly embrace my love for the genre. Ride ‘em cowboy.
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks - This is one of those books that I mention with the reminder that I don’t believe in guilty pleasure books. Nicholas Sparks is not an author I normally gravitate towards, but for those who do, all power to you. That being said, I honestly did enjoy the plot of this novel (and the movie), and I have vivid memories of being so surprised when both my mom and someone from my book club guessed the plot twist because I was so surprised by it.
The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene - A love of Nancy Drew introduced me to my best friend. Enough said.
You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler - I grew up thinking that I hated art. Turns out, I just profoundly disliked the elementary school art teacher I had who yelled, screamed, and criticized everyone. During the pandemic, I gave myself free reign to explore different creative pursuits, and drawing was one I decided to return to. This is the book I found to help me, and it turns out I actually enjoy drawing. Apparently, I just don’t enjoy being in a hostile environment while trying to be creative.
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What books have shaped your life? Share below!
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