Book Challenge: Ten-ish Books that Have Stayed with Me

Bewildered, I stared at my three Ikea bookshelves. An old friend had just challenged me to post 10 books that have touched me, stayed with me.

For some people it may be hard to pick ten.

For me it was hard to pick ONLY ten.

Over the past four years, I have worked as an English teacher. The four years before that, I studied literature. Eight years of reading, deconstructing, debating, writing.Essentially, books have been my business for a long time. This year I have accepted a new position teaching technology, so this blog post comes as my final nod to teaching English—for now, one never really knows.

In no particular order, here are TEN-ish BOOKS (plus honorable mentions) that have stayed with me, made me think or touched my soul:

1. The Little Prince -- Antoine de Saint-ExuperyIf you have not read it, stop everything that you are doing (including reading this blog post) and read it! The entire book is less than 90 pages with several full page pictures; however, do not be decieved! It is not a children’s book. This book must be read with your heart!
2. Fahrenheit 451 -- Ray Bradbury

3.  The Harry Potter Series – J.K. RowlingLife changer! Don’t know what took me so long!
4. The Fault in our Stars -- John GreenLet’s be honest, I really just love almost everything that John Green writes! If you want to cry, stick with this one. If you want to laugh, try Paper Towns instead.
5. A Raisin in the Sun -- Lorraine Hansberry
6. Let the Great World Spin -- Colum McCann 
   I’ve also read McCann’s This Side of Brightness which was equally as powerful.
7. Black Boy -- Richard Wright 
   “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” was one of the most powerful historical, autobiographical sketches that I ever read. Black Boy is an expanded version, adding even more detail and insight.
8. Caucasia -- Danzy Senna
9. Our Town -- Thornton Wilder
   
   
   
   
10. Number the Stars -- Lois Lowry 

Honorable Mentions:
Life in Motion: My Story of Adversity and Grace by Misty Copeland
Everything by David Sedaris (especially Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls)
Walk Out Walk On: A Learning Journey into Communities Daring to Live the Future Now by Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze

WANT TO GIVE IT A TRY?

Copy the following post and tag your friends. Then list your ten (or as many as you need to)!

"Book Challenge: In your status, list 10 books that have stayed with you in some way or hold meaning to you. Don't take too long and don't think too hard. They don't have to be the "right" books or great books of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way. Tag your friends, including me so I can see your list"