First Fifteen

My latest Facebook tag....Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose...

1. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - Probably my favorite, all-time book, if I was forced to choose one. Barbara Kingsolver is brilliant. I wish I had one-tenth of her writing ability.

2. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King - If you've read them, you understand. I've read every book Stephen King has written, but these are my faves.

3. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling - I fell in love with the characters in this series. Can't imagine I'll ever be at the store at midnight to buy a book again!

4. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger - Such a poignant, heart wrenching love story. I love the idea that the twists and turns of fate bring us to the people we're meant to connect with. The story plays with that theme in such a cool way.

5. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris - Hilarious. David Sedaris cracks me up.

6. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot - I didn't read this until about a year ago. What a wonderful memoir! I hope to read some of the sequels this summer.

7. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan - The strong females in this book made such an impression on me when I read it in the early 90s.

8. Beloved by Toni Morrison - Beautifully crafted. I was able to enter a world that is completely different from my reality, yet still connect with the characters.

9. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough - The first "big girl" book I read, when I was about 14 or 15. Sex? In books? Oh my goodness...

10. Into Thin Air by John Krakauer - I loved reading about the mechanics of an expedition up Everest. I grieved for the folks who didn't make it back from this particular ill-fated trek.

11. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - The movie is even better.

12. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield - This book inspired my Master's thesis!

13. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - After having it recommended to me by something like 15 different people, I finally connected with this book in the midst of my divorce. And it helped.

14. He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt - Why did it take someone so long to write this down? It should be required reading for girls entering puberty.

15. Memoirs!!: The Year of Yes by Maria Dahvana Headley; Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt; The Class Castle by Jeannette Walls; A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - I love memoirs!!