What books have I read, that will always stick with me? 1) The Bible is the most influential book, and I read in it every day. It is a study book, as well as a Living Word that changes me. 2) The Book of Psalms is my favorite book, period. If it weren't in the Bible, it would still be my favorite. 3) The Hobbit 4) Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Tolkien has been my favorite author since 7th grade. His world was where I lived when I was 17. I think reading JRR Tolkien was like meeting one of the last classically educated minds. CS Lewis, too. They bring the greats with them to their story telling and essaying. 5) The Great Divorce by CS Lewis. I read that book when I was in 7th grade and have read it many times since. It teaches me that Heaven is more real than any place within the cosmos. 6) Why Cats Paint -a picture book about cats who make streaks, dots, splashes and other colorful explorations on windows, walls, and mirrors. It gave me pause, to think that they might see in color, and might choose the color that they see, to dab on a "canvas". 7) Silverlock- this is a paperback book that I wish would come back into print. About a man who goes down in a ship at sea and washes ashore on The Commonwealth, where characters from good literature make their livings. Here it was that I first met The Last Mohican and David Crockett and Sam Houston, Don Quixote...well, all of the greats of literature. And Silverlock, the main character, grows and becomes a decent human being by the end. A romp-roaring fun read...Hm...time to read it again... 8) No Moment Too Small- a book about the disciplines of Silence, Prayer, and Holy Reading. It taught me that being quiet and listening is A Good Thing. 9) The Neck of the Giraffe by Stephen J Gould (?)...I read it as a new Christian, and found an evolutionist saying things like "what do we do with the fact that the fossil record really isn't supporting Darwinian evolution?" He invented Punctuated Equilibrium to avoid the possibility that life really DIDN'T spontaneously evolve out of ... ? 10) Celebration of Discipline. This book taught me about the classic disciplines of Christian life. Opened my heart up to the practicality of living for Christ. Read for the first time when I was a babe in the Lord. 11) Follow My Leader about a boy who loses his eyesight in a firecracker accident. I read it in 4th grade and just loved it. I wrote about the boy who invented gunpowder, after reading that book! made me want to write, it did. (the boy who invented gunpowder, just so you know, lived in DesMoines, Iowa! hahaha!) 12) Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm...grim was the right word...I read those stories in bed as a little girl, and was appalled and compelled by the wicked little kids in them, and their gruesome punishments. 13) Audubon's Birds of America...a classic. I've used it many times to identify birds I've seen. There are better bird books out there now, but the Audubon is the one I've flipped through most often. It has that lovely old book smell. 14) Attack of the Hideous Mutant Monster Snow Goons w/Calvin & Hobbes. Or Revenge of the Babysat. Either of these are fine for a mindless hour, to get a good chuckle and feel better about life. 15) 1940 Hymnal of the Episcopal Church. I love the beautiful music in this book! It shaped me as much or more than anything else in my childhood. | 
