What’s Ridden On My Shelf

 Currently on my nightstand: Global Mom, by Melissa Dalton-Bradford. I usually have 3+ current reads aside from one book that I take my time reading, in order to absorb it the way I want to. Global Mom: Eight Countries, Sixteen Addresses, five Languages, One Family is a memoir of family life around the world, and I’m in love with it. Other titles currently include The Book Thief, Good Omens, The Girl On The Train, and Kendra Marie Moning’s Fever Series.

Favorite book when I was a child: By far! Sam the Cat: Detective, by Lisa Stewart. My mother is allergic to cats, so naturally, cats were my favorite animal… What better story than that of a cat that doubles as a detective?? With a little bit of a satirical flavor, the series is written from Sam’s perspective as he dons a fedora and plays Dick Tracy.

My top five authors: In no particular order (who could possibly list one above the other?? Or stop at five, for that matter…): Michael Crichton, Malcolm Gladwell, Oscar Wilde, Brad Meltzer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Atul Gawande, Jane Austen, Scot Westerfeld, … oh! And recently, Ernest Hemingway.

Book I‘m an evangelist for: Cheryl Strayed’s Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. It seems that everyone that isn’t a part of Oprah’s book club has something negative to say about Strayed’s memoir about hiking 1100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone, after her mother’s death, in an effort to heal and forgive. I thought Strayed’s story was astonishing. She loses a loved one, hits metaphorical rock bottom after rock bottom, then challenges herself to accomplish a feat that very few 26-year-old females would voluntarily take on.

Book I bought for the cover: Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. As a fan of “Supernatural”, I couldn’t resist the sketch of a sarcastic-smirking demon amidst red cultish letters standing out across a white background. I mean, just look at it.

Book I hid from my parents:  How about books, plural? The Princess Diaries, all of them, by Meg Cabot. All of them. I’d pick up all kinds of other books from the library and stash the next Princess Diaries installment in the middle of the pile, until I’d checked out and could throw it in my book bag. My mother didn’t approve of any “questionable” books being brought into our house, especially young adult novels with any inkling of a love story.

Book that changed my life: Stormbreaker, by Anthony Horowitz. I was introduced to the Alex Rider series as a teenager and went on to find a large part of my identity in Alex’s character. My pen name, nickname, street name, pseudonym… are all taken from Alex Rider. Horowitz’s character has influenced more of me than any single other influence I can imagine.

The book I’ve faked reading: Well, until about four months ago, it was To Kill A Mockingbird. Finally sat down and read that one. In all honesty, I’ve never read The Great Gatsby. Haven’t even seen the movie, yet only one person in the world knows those tidbits about me. Secret’s out, I guess.

Favorite line from a book:

Five books I’ll never part with: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, The Private Lives of the Impressionists, by Sue Ross, Timeline, by Michael Crichton, Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, by Atul Gawande, and The Importance of Being Ernest, by Oscar Wilde.

Book I most want to read again for the first time: Brad Meltzer’s The Zero Game. As R.L. Stine’s character said at the end of the “Goosebumps” movie: “Every story ever told can be broken down into three parts: the beginning, the middle, and the twist.” The Zero Game. Seriously. What. A. Twist.