Copy Cat

By G.Parker

I'm going to be a copy cat in my blog today. I was reading the 6 LDS Writers and a Frog and noticed Kerry Blair's blog about her 5 most important books. She explains why and what they mean to her. Apparently this stemmed from her addiction to reading Newsweek magazine and the column it runs with similar thoughts from famous people. However, that column only gives them two sentences to state their feelings.

I liked the idea, so I'm elaborating.

A while ago some of us did a blog listing the top 100 books we've either heard or read and while that was fun, I like this one better. I've been a reader since I had to stay back in first grade because I couldn't read.

I got to the point in my high school freshman year where I was picking up two books from the library on the way home, only to return those two books the next day and pick up more. Voracious would be my children. I was cannibalistic. I got a plaque as a senior that said I had soared like an eagle in speed reading…yeah right. I saw no big deal about it, and 'totally gagged' on the whole experience - I was not impressed.

Anyway, here is my list.

1. The Book of Mormon. Okay, I know all the scriptures are important, but this one is my favorite. I remember an old FHE manual lesson that stated if there was only one book you could take with you into space, you should take the Book of Mormon because it was the most perfect book. That has always stayed with me.

2. Anne of Green Gables. Oh man…I read and read and re-read that one. I loved the PBS series as well. I think Megan Fellows does an excellent job of filling the shoes of our heroine. Truly an excellent book.

3. The Diary of Anne Frank. This is the book that started me thinking about writing. I thought "Wow…if I kept a journal and someone found it later, what would I say?" Somehow that translated into writing in general, and then writing fiction. I was 12 when I first read it.

4. The Little Princess/The Secret Garden . For some reason, because these two books are illustrated by the same person, I always think of them together. I loved both of these books. Perhaps one reason was I felt I could empathize with the character, since I lost my father when I was 7. I also always wanted to be a princess.

5. The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. I don't even know the author to this one, but I have this pathetic little volume that is falling apart and put up high on a shelf so that the kids can't finish the job. I've had this book since someone gave it to me as a youth. It's simplistic, but the message is clean, wholesome and goes along
with the whole idea that work is important and that right and good win out over all odds. If you can find a copy, you want to read it to your younger children. It's lovely. Really.

So there you have it. Not a very impressive or literary list, but it's the 5 (or 6) books that mean a lot to me. I have lots more, of course. I could add the whole series of the Work and The Glory books, but there are books like that for all of us. These are the books that meant a lot to me in my youth, and still are books I treasure today.
What is your list?