You might notice that most of these books are children's books, or that many of them are "firsts." This isn't because I stopped reading good books after childhood, but because for me, the first of a certain type of book was the baseline, compared to every other and therefore the most memorable. Like eating an apple, the first bite is always the best. Also these are definitely not necessarily my favorite books, again, just the most memorable.
1) Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
I'm starting this list off with Gravity's Rainbow for two reasons: one, I read it relatively recently so it was the first truly impressive work that came to mind, and two, because it blew my mind. Really, truly blew my mind. To shreds. Like a bazooka to a helium balloon. I felt as though I was perpetually scratching away at the tip of an iceberg with a glacier of dense, wordy, witty brilliance extending below my feet. That is, until a few rare glimpses of clarity, when the full force of the work would slap me upside the head and snap everything into focus. I will probably reread that book a dozen times and still not even be close to fully grasping all that Pynchon crunched into it. Really, seriously impressive work.
2) Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men has been a favorite book of mine since I read it at age 13. I've never been as emotionally distraught after finishing a book as I was after George shot Lenny (spoiler alert!), for some reason I just became completely attached to the characters, sympathetic of their situations and understanding of their decisions, heartbreaking as those decisions might have been.
3) Life of Pi, Yann Martel
Read it when I was 9 and then never again, and it's still one of the only books I'm able to recall almost entirely. I usually have a lot of difficulty remembering details of books, regardless of how much I loved them or how recently I've read them, but every trivial detail of Life of Pi has stuck with me over the 8 year gap since my last reading. The passage where he snaps the turtle's neck, remembering how he was once reluctant to snap a banana open, imagining it to be an animal's neck? Golden.
4) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
My first of the many Dahl books that filled my childhood, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory always stuck out as a best and a favorite, with Dahl's autobiography as a close second. I can't even begin to guess how many times I read this book, and each re-reading delivers the same dose of whimsical Dahl-goodness.
5) The Secret Garden, Frances Burnett
First chapter book I ever read, and it was interesting to me because the character with whom I associated the most was the garden itself rather than any of the people. Since it was my first long-ish book, the experience of reading it will always be memorable for me.
7) Redwall and Mattimeo, Brian Jacques
The TV show on PBS made me really happy, and being a slightly pretentious bookworm child, I was ecstatic when I found out it was based on a book series.
8) Assorted Short Stories: (I love short stories. Good things come in little packages)
"Jonathan Livingston Seagull"
Hated this when we were supposed to read it in 7th grade, but now I really love it. Jonathan when he's plummeting into the ocean and nearly dies gets me every time.
"A Perfect Day for Bananafish"
Like Of Mice and Men, let me empty and emotionally shaken (but to nowhere near the same degree).
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"
"They're Made Out of Meat"
Not necessarily my favorite story, but really thought provoking and clever. This is one of those stories that you think about at some level on a daily basis
Never thought I'd see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the same list with Gravity's Rainbow. That's a book I've tried to read twice and still haven't pulled off, so my hat's off to you just as much as to the people who've read Infinite Jest. I always get bogged down about the introduction of the fourth subplot and get completely confused. I am, however, with you on both Mice and Men and Bananafish. Thanks for such an interesting and varied list.
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