There has been a post circulating on Facebook where you are asked to list "10 books that have stayed with you in some way." The instructions explain that you shouldn't think too hard about naming the "right" or "great" works, but just the ones that have somehow impacted you. Here's a few that fit the bill.
I rarely re-read or even re-watch things (with the inexplicable, classy exception of The Fugitive with Harrison Ford) but for some reason, I've read this book dozens of times. First as an assignment in sixth grade but then many times thereafter, even just a few years ago when I happened across it on my old bookshelf.
Not much to say. One of my favorite books of all time. Perfect.
This collection of poems was my first introduction to Merwin's work, way back during sophomore year of college. Judging by the multiple doodles along the margins of my copy, I wasn't exactly immersed. After graduation, though, I turned back to it and fell in love with his work.
If you've scoffed at the idea of reading about history, this book could change your tune. Really fascinating look at the Dust Bowl told in riveting stories of families struggling to survive but also an accounting of how the government basically caused the whole thing...
Talk about tales of survival! Shackleton started it all -- that insatiable desire to read gritty tales of survival that somehow morphed into a yen for post-apocalyptic fiction. Thanks Shacky. But yeah, Shackleton was an Arctic explorer who ran into some trouble, stranding himself and his ship amidst the tundra. This guy was tough. Read it.
It's hard to forget this book. I think it really inspires the understanding that no matter what we do, there are some inescapable cycles of inequity. The stories are haunting.
I barely remember it now (I can't remember yesterday) but know that I thought about it for a long time after reading it. The pressure of societal norms probably ain't going anywhere and this book, as old as it is, digs into that oppression.
Sigh...love.
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