The Fifteen Book Meme

[dwgm]

Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

As fifteen is so not enough, I have at least put asterisks by those that were only the first of many books I read and loved by those authors.

The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien *
Devil's Cub – Georgette Heyer *
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis *
The Once and Future King – T. H. White *
Master and Commander – Patrick O'Brian *
The Robe – Lloyd C. Douglas *
The Good Earth – Pearl Buck *
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott *
Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
Hawaii – James A. Michener *
Dragonriders of Pern – Anne McCaffrey *
Little House in the Big Woods – Laura Ingalls Wilder *
Glory and the Lightning – Taylor Caldwell *
The Friendly Persuasion – Jessamyn West *
Neither Here Nor There – Bill Bryson *

Comments

[lj_stowaway]

So many books! 15 is SO not enough, I agree. And, like you, I listed books that are really standing in a for multiples by the same author.

I can't remember which Heyer I read first (and I had to leave her off the list anyway, alas) but I've never read one of hers I didn't like and there are several I have read many times with great enjoyment.

It's great fun reading these and peering into the mental universe of so many folks.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

These were just those that readily occurred to me, but gosh, there are SO many others, as I found when I went to glance at my library shelf.

I couldn't leave off Heyer as her novels combine so many things I love, and I have revisited them so many times.

Must look at your list.

[lj_stowaway]

Mine's over at DW.

Heyer is wonderful, isn't she? Have you read her mysteries, as well as her romances? I really like them.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, read her mysteries too. There are only a few of her works I haven't read, and I own most of the romances on this list. I just can't resist the way she makes characters come alive in just a few lines, or even words, and her sense of humor. She had the Gift.

[lj_stowaway]

And her dialog was so wonderful - she had an ear for banter.

My Heyer is listed here. I'm still missing a few, but not too many.

[linaelyn.livejournal.com]

Wow! I think your list probably has the greatest number of "hey, I never got around to reading that one" entries, for me! Douglas, Mitchell, Caldwell, Bryson, West.... never read *any* of their books. And that's not the Heyer novel I read.

Thanks for sharing your list!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Most of those I read as a teen or twenty-something, first, but all are worth rereading.

This is a fun meme, I think. :)

Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day, btw.

[linaelyn.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the Mother's Day wishes. Right back atcha! Did you spend time today with LadyMora and WeeMonkey, or was that for another day?

My day has been peaceful and productive. Estel and the kids have made the back patio "summer-ready" and it's a lovely place for an evening of sipping drinks and throwing darts, now. The twinkly-lights are shining again! It's been a lovely day.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Yes, ladymora, son-in-law dr_mrow, weemonkey6 and her boyfriend J took me out to a fancy Mother's Day lunch at the Elephant Bar, a very nice place, and much fun was had. Our original plan, to swim and bbq, fell through as the heater on the pool wasn't fixed in time (it needs a part), so that will wait until next week.

Sounds like you had a great day! Yay for twinkly lights and drink-sipping.

*hugs*

[linaelyn.livejournal.com]

Oooooh! We have an Elephant Bar up here too, but I've never been (though I've had other friends recommend them.) Too bad about the pool part, but there's plenty of summer left to enjoy, surely.

*happy Mama-hugs*

[tiamary.livejournal.com]

Hee! You listed the first of the Little House books and I listed the last. :-)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

YMMV, of course, but our Elephant Bar has been a family favorite since the kids were little. It has a nice selection of food, whether you like meat and potatoes, Chinese, Mexican, or are vegetarian, and the drinks are not only good but they are reasonably priced, which seems to be an unusual thing these days. Plus it's only a few blocks from our house.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

It's the whole series, really, a fascinating work when reread as an adult. I think Farmer Boy was actually my favorite.

[jillianfish.livejournal.com]

Gosh I miss the Little House books. We had the box set when I was growing up and I would sit in bed with my mom at night and we'd take turns reading one chapter a night. Those books were incredible. My sister never had the same love for reading that my mother and I did so those books haven't seen much use after me. I'm going to steal them from my parents house and re-read them.

I love this meme. I'll probably steal it too, although I'm at work, not at home, so hopefully I'll be able to remember 15 books. lol.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I reread the Little House books as an adult and it was quite a revelation. I got so much more from them. I highly recommend it.

I keep thinking of books I should have listed. It's hard to remember off the top of one's head.

[pearlseed.livejournal.com]

Well, Tom Robbins Another Roadside Attraction, in which we learn the only thing hotter, sweeter, and pinker than Amanda is Georgia BBQ and I don't even eat meat

Still Life with Woodpecker Tom Robbins

The Black Stallion* Walter Farley

Lord Greystoke, King of the Apes Edgar Rice Burroughs

Rubyfruit Jungle Rita Mae Brown

Lonesome Dove

Shogun

Marco Polo
Rest of my list fits in with the one above pretty much

The Hidden Life of Water--a darling little new wave book of photographs

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

It's amazing how many people who did this meme mentioned The Black Stallion. I think I need to read that.

Speaking of Marco Polo, He Went With Marco Polo should probably have been on my list, it was one of my favorite books as a kid, a perfect blending of history, travel, and human relationships, from what I remember.

Also: Shogun. Except it's so bloody. In the literal sense.

Thanks for sharing your list!!

[trinityday.livejournal.com]

While I've read many of these, I'm a little ashamed to admit that there are a couple I haven't heard of (nor have I any idea of the author).

[ladymouse2.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, fifteen is NOWHERE near enough! I was tickled to see how many books in common we have--also several I never got to! Most of these I loved but they wouldn't be in the very first fifteen off the top of my head maybe, the ones that so shaped you they are right "there" when questions of lists like this come up. Here goes; like you the asterisk denotes my reading their other books greedily too:

Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Graham *
Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carroll
The King Must Die - Mary Renault *
The Crystal Cave - Mary Stewart *
Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien *
Out of the Silent Planet - C. S. Lewis *
Watership Down - Richard Adams*
Seven Pillers of Wisdom - T.E. Lawrence
The Story of the Other Wise Man - Henry Van Dyke
The Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling *
Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift *
Father Brown Mysteries - G. K. Chesteron *
The Collected Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle *
The Immense Journey - Loren Eisley *
The Once and Future King - t. H. White *