juldea: (geek girl)
[personal profile] juldea
A few various people have done a "list 15 books you like" meme, but I've been inspired by [livejournal.com profile] londo's ponderings over his list to instead list 15 books that are extremely important to me and my growth andor change as a person.

1. Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged. I've never been apologetic about it; Rand is my favorite fantasy author, and I reread her fiction every few years. Finding her books in junior year of high school was monumentally important to my evolution as a person.

2. J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, The Book of the Subgenius. My first look into alternate... anything.

3. Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, The Dragonlance Chronicles, and if it's necessary to pick one, Dragons of Winter Night. The first fantasy books I ever found. I pick Winter Night because one of my only memories from pre-high-school was ambushing my brother (who was the owner of the books) as he came home one day to rant at him about the "great reveal" of the book.

4. "J", The Sensuous Woman. Honestly, I bought this book off of the 5-cent rack at the library just to shock a classmate. Then, one day, I ended up reading it. And I think I benefited in the long run.

5. Herman Roucher, Ode to Billy Joe. Lent to me by [livejournal.com profile] red_ervish in college, one of the first books to ... well, actually, if I tell you what it's about, it spoils the plot.

6. Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Critically important to my curiosity in philosophy and values.

7. Willo Davis Roberts, The Girl with the Silver Eyes. Okay, so maybe THIS was the first fantasy I ever read - Dragonlance was just the first sword and dragons fantasy. This is a YA book about a girl with ESP powers due to her mother having been pregnant and working at a drug factory, and the girl's attempts to find the six other kids in the world who had also been born with these powers. It still sticks with me.

8. Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching. First Eastern philosophy/religion book I ever read, in high school.

9. Carl Sagan, Contact. Because there's so much out there, and we - I - need to keep looking.

10. John T. Molloy, The New Women's Dress for Success. I read this after college, and while I don't follow all of the rules (short women should apparently never, ever wear long skirts, and hair as long as mine is RIGHT out), I feel like it did inform me about businesswear when I didn't have a clue before.

...and now I'm getting kicked out of [livejournal.com profile] contradictacat's living room, so I'll have to finish later.
(deleted comment)

on 12 Jun 2009 22:39 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] juldea.livejournal.com
It provided me with the perfect angst after breaking up with [livejournal.com profile] londo... since both he and I have light eyes, and thus our eventual children would've been beautifully blue-eyed. So all I needed was a bridge, really.

on 12 Jun 2009 11:17 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] doc-smiley.livejournal.com
I saw this online a while back and felt the need to share it given your #1 (I don't necessarily agree, I just found it funny):
"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."

on 12 Jun 2009 22:40 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] juldea.livejournal.com
Seen it.

on 12 Jun 2009 12:13 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] zenandtheart.livejournal.com
I'd definitely put #6 close to the top of my book list.

on 12 Jun 2009 22:44 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] juldea.livejournal.com
No, really? ;) (I thought of you after I had put it on mine!)

on 12 Jun 2009 12:16 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] ultimatepsi.livejournal.com
The Girl with Silver Eyes is one of my favorite books. I hadn't thought anyone else had read it.

on 12 Jun 2009 22:45 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] juldea.livejournal.com
Neat! I was thinking as I put it on my list that perhaps I should try to buy a copy now, so I can have it if I ever need to share it with children (mine or whomever's.)

on 13 Jun 2009 00:29 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] ultimatepsi.livejournal.com
I have a copy, but you may still want to buy a copy of your own.

on 12 Jun 2009 15:39 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] pezzonovante.livejournal.com
At the risk of turning this into a flame war, check this out.

http://www.openmass.org/bills/show/20857

on 12 Jun 2009 20:02 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] yunafonfabre.livejournal.com
*hands twitch slightly*

Nope. Not getting involved in this one.

on 12 Jun 2009 22:38 (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] juldea.livejournal.com
*snerk* That is quite beyond necessary, even for my favorite author. But thanks for the pointer!

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