Ten Books That Have Influenced Me

Last week my cousin, Lori, tagged me on facebook in a post with this caption,

 List 10 books that have influenced or stayed with you. The rules: "Don't overthink it; they don't need to be literary masterpieces, just books that have influenced you in some way. Tag friends, have them list their 10 books and also tag you so you can see their picks."

 Since reading is for sure my thang I decided to put my list here where the possibility exists that everybody in the entire world can see and really appreciate it for the masterpiece that my list is. Masterpiece! Also, I'm putting links to the books on Amazon but lest you worry that I make money from them, rest easy, I blog for free. Unless you want to pay me. Then let's talk.

We pretty much have books stashed everywhere at our house, it makes me feel happy to be surrounded by old friends. Okay, here goes.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe  Oh, how I loved this book! Words can't really describe, but when I was in grade school it was like religion to me.
2. The Book of Mormon I hesitated to put this one on the list because I read it in a completely different way than the others since it's scripture and not fiction, but if I'm talking about what influenced me...it's kind of an understatement.

3. A Little Princess The idea that who you really are is manifest by how you behave when life sucks, it's stuck with me.
4. Gone with the Wind I read this in high school and it was the first classic novel I read just because I wanted to. Liking it changed the way I felt about the cannon, not as something my teachers made me read, but as books I was excited to read because they were likely to be awesome!
5. Little Women I know I'm not the only one who wanted to be as good as those girls. I'm hiding Anne of Green Gables in here too.
6. The Joy Luck Club It's not my favorite Amy Tan novel anymore, but it was the first grown up lady fiction I ever read and it sent me careening down that path where I've spent countless happy nights up reading when I should have been sleeping.

7. The Samurai's Garden I've read this so many times that it hardly counts as reading anymore. Love.
8. The Hiding Place Re-reading this is like pushing my own re-set button.
9. The Time Travelers Wife I've mentioned this book before. It is about love and romance between a husband and wife that endures crazy, impossible adversity. 
10. The Harry Potter series. Whatever. It was so fun reading those with Marc and Maddie.

Looking over this list I'm noticing how many of the books I read before I was thirty. I wonder if I've just become a lot less malleable in my old age.

So now, I tag YOU! If you can't share ten, at least give me one recommendation. I'm always looking for a good book and you're much more reliable than the New York Times.