Favorite Book List

This little blog is in celebration of the discovery of a book I have been looking for since college. 

I was raised in the Catholic School System from Grade 1-8.  Part of that experience was the Scholastic Book Club.  This was a program designed to encourage reading in young kids with access to discounted books designed for the specific age of the target audience.  I don't remember any of the books being more than $2-3.  I think the most expensive book I ever got was $5.

 

I remember this so clearly because I was stunned when I went to a commercial bookstore, B Dalton in it's glory days (pre-Barnes&Noble), and discovered the books there cost over $20!  I was used to hard cover bound books from my book club.  Even the paperbacks were over $5 and that was so surprising to me!

 

My mom made it a point to order "at least one" book every month.  So wether I wanted to read or not, I had to go through the catalogue and pick one book that I might like to read someday.

 

Sometime between 3rd grade and 6th grade, I read a book about a young girl, my age, who had an Aunt come to visit over the summer.  She was weird and odd, and strange.  She left a trunk in the attic of the young girl's home and went back on her travels.  Later on, the weather is rainy and wet over Thanksgiving weekend and the young girl and her friend get into the trunk.  They find Seven LEague Boots, Magic Gloves, and a magic mirror, amongst other items.  They have very interesting adventures!

 

The book really spoke to me.  My grandmother or my grandfather gave me the book.  I know that for a while, my Grandfather was buying the books.  If I refused to buy a book for the month, mom would give him the order form and tell him I didn't want anything.  It never ocurred to me that the books he and my grandmother gave me were from that Book Club until much later on in life.

 

What the Witch Left by Ruth Crew was one of the best books I have ever read.  I was at the right age, at the right time.  It was a book that imprinted on me the concepts and ideas my Grandfather was trying to show me. 

 

I finally found a diverse enough forum - with people old enough to remember - to post in and I sent out a request for help in the search.  A nice lady pointed me to Stump the Bookseller at LoganBerryBooks.com .  It took a few tries with various keywords, but I finally got the right combination and there it was.

Here's how crazy this is.....  When I finally got to see a picture of the book, I could actually smell the pages.  It was crazy.  At least from a psychological point, I know I have the right book.  LOL!

 

I am amazed at how that book became the cornerstone of my library over the years.  I decided to take a look at the list (it's the end of the year you know....), and make a list of the books I love. 

(I am not going to all the work of linking the books.  Just copy and paste the title and author into google and you'll get the info on the book - sorry!)

 

What the Witch Left, Ruth Crew, Scholatic Press
A Wrinkle in Time, Madalein L'Engle
A Wind in the Door, Madeleine L'Engle
A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeleine Peyroux
The Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
  The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 
  The Silver Chair
  The Horse and His Boy
  The Magician's Nephew

 

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Dracula, Brahm Stoker
The Talisman, Stephen King & Peter Stroub
The Stand, Stephen King
The Dark Tower, Stephen King (Started in 1985 and I finally finished it in 2003)
  I The Gunslinger
  II The Drawing of the Three
  III The Wastelands
  IV Wizard and Glass
  V Wolves of the Calla
  VI Song of Susannah
  VII The Dark Tower

 

Imajica - Clive Barker
The Great And Secret Show The First Book Of The Art, Clive Barker
Everville The Second Book Of The Art, Clive Barker
The Thief Of Always, A Fable, Clive Barker
The Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice
  Interview with a Vampire
  The Vampire Lestat
  Queen of the Damned
  The Tale of the Body Thief
  Memnoch the Devel
  Merrick
  Blackwood Farm

 

The Mayfair Witches, Anne Rice
  The Witching Hour
  Lasher
  Taltos

 

The Feast of All Saints, Anne Rice
Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
The Mummy, Anne Rice
Servant of the Bones, Anne Rice
 
Avalon Series by Marion Zimmer Bradley
  The Mists of Avalon
  The Forest House
  Lady of Avalon 
  Priestess of Avalon

 

Daughter of the Forest, Juliet Marillier
Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan
  The Eye of the World
  The Great Hunt

 

Wicked, The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory MacGuire
Son of a Witch, Gregory MacGuire
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Gregory MacGuire
A Lion Among Men, Gregory MacGuire

Keep in mind that this list is not inclusive of other books, such as on religion and spirituality or those books of non fiction which feed my career.  This list is just the notable fiction that has driven me over the years.