10 Books

This was a facebook challenge from a friend.

My dorm room bookshelf

Rules: In your status, list 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes and don't think too hard. They don't have to be the "right books" or great works of literature, just the ones that have affected you in some way.

1. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky): This book made my Junior year summer. Dostoevsky is a master in all aspects, and I couldn't put it down. It also singlehandedly got me into Russian Literature. Speaking of Russian Lit...

2. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy): Of all the tragedies I have read, Tolstoy's epic is unmatched in its complexity and sheer scope. Even after finishing it, one gets the feeling that he/she has only taken in half of all the book has to say!

3. Gregor the Overlander (Suzanne Collins): Before the Hunger Games, Collins wrote about a boy named Gregor. This was my favorite youth series, and I still look back fondly at my time exploring the "Underworld." A legendary series by all accounts.

4. Warriors: Into the Wild (Erin Hunter): Another nostalgic pick. Specifically, Hunter's world of cats and clans stimulated my thoughts pertaining to my own cat, Zebra. It's a good series in and of itself, but I think the way it related to my cat made it special for me. To this day, I like to imagine that Zebra is in Starclan.

5. Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris): There's just something about this psychological horror story... Harris paces the novel very well, and knows how to disgust and mortify you just enough to keep you reading to the relatively happy end. A compelling book that shocked me with its brutality, both in imagery and themes.

6. The Report Card (Andrew Clements): This book made me realize that I am powerful. Or, at least as powerful as a fifth grader could be. Nora's ability to revolutionize her school system was a powerful story to me. It's a story that highlights individual power to change outdated societal systems, packaged in a charming children's book. Now that I think about it, my dislike for standardized tests like the SAT might have started here.

7. Nectar in a Sieve (Kamala Markandaya): This was actually a book from World Civ. class that we never ended up discussing. It was only around 200 pages, and combined with Markandaya's beautiful and riveting writing, I remember plowing through it in a single day. Rukmani's story reminds us to be grateful for what we have, and it paints a disturbingly powerful image of what rural life in India can be like.

8. A Streetcar named Desire (Tennessee Williams): The only book/play that has ever made me come close to tears. Anna Karenina's style of tragedy is like a slow, dull pain. One can feel it creeping up and tugging at the heartstrings, but Tolstoy intertwines it with happy moments as well. Streetcar just punches you right from the start and never stops. It's an unrelenting story of the destruction of innocence and a grim reminder of the sacrifices involved in any cultural "revolution".

9. Notes from Underground (Fyodor Dostoevsky): Yeah, I couldn't help but put two Dostoevsky books on here. Out of all literary characters, "The Underground Man" is probably the character that has inspired my most ambivalent feelings. His tale is just so fascinating... Dostoevsky also has an excellent sense of dark humor in this short tale.

10. Book of Ecclesiastes (Bible): The first book that I ever deeply thought about.