Top 10 Most Influential Books

One of the Yahoo groups I'm in posted this idea of listing your top 10 most influential books in your life. I thought I would blog about it.

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - I discovered this series when I was around 13. I then introduced them to my friends and from there out we lived and breathed Anne. We walked around quoting the things she said. Essentially, we lived her. Around every four years I get out my copies and reread them. This last time around I listened to them on audio (as many as were available, the rest I read). I highly recommend the ones narrated by Barbara Caruso. Excellent!

2. Eight Cousins & Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott- I was introduced to Eight Cousins by my Grandma. She just knew I needed to read this since the girl had all boy cousins. That was my exact situation. I read her copy (all the pages had fallen away from the binding) while visiting her. I loved the book. A couple of years later to my joy I found the sequel Rose in Bloom at a bookstore. I snatched it up. This was a great ending to a great story. A side note: I had tried to read Little Women before I read Eight Cousins and never could get into it. After reading Eight Cousins I devoured all the rest of Alcott's books. Another side note: I now own the old fallen apart copy of Eight Cousins.

3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I finally read this book for the first time last year. I had watched some of the film versions and it piqued my interest. I was greatly impressed. This story is fabulous. There are so many hardships, yet so much glory is given to God. Definitely a book to be re-read over and over.

4. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery - I don't know what it is about this book that I find so fascinating, but besides Anne of Green Gables books this story really touched me.

5. The Zion Covenant Series by Brock & Bodie Thoene -Go to here for a quick preview of them. These definitely whetted my appetite to read books set during World War II. Also, this is where it really made an impression about the atrociaties of Nazi Germany. A must read!

6. Heaven to Betsy and following books by Maud Hart Lovelace - I discovered these books in the small YA section of our library. I was totally enthralled with Betsy and her "crowd". I wanted to go back in live in that time period. This was another series that I read and re-read several times in high school. There are books about Betsy and her friends when she was younger, but discovered those too late. I have started reading them to my daughter.

7. A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola - When I read this book I felt I had come home. Here was the way I wanted to educate my children. In fact, before ever reading anything about Charlotte Mason, when I had taught in a private Christian, I had started implementing narration with my students . Imagine my surprise when I read about Charlotte Mason and narration.

8. Love Comes Softly Series by Janette Oke - I have to include this book because it was such a mainstay when I was a teenager. I read and re-read this series many times. I know this may be considered "twaddle" and have inferior writing, but I enjoyed them very much. I personally favorite is Love Comes Softly.

9. Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace - I had to read this for in 12th grade. I only had to read two different sections of the book, but I was so drawn into the story that I read the whole thing. This story has lived with me ever since. This is one that I want to go back and read.

10. Books by Grace Livingston Hill - I know, I know, these are probably a poor choice and have repetitious story lines, but I survived my teenage years with these books. My mom, being the wise mother that she is, was pretty firm on what I could read and not read. Of course, trashy romance books were not on the list. I was allowed to read Grace Livingston Hill which then turned into a collecting habit. I have collected over 90 of her books. My personal favorites are: The Strange Proposal, White Orchids, The Enchanted Barn.