I'm actually responding to Lareina's tag here, because my Facebook is just fucked and I don't know why. Plus, I'm too lazy to make an actual note and I don't know who else would care about the books I've read.
1.
The Tale of Troy - I won this when I was 9 for being best in English. This was the book that singlehandedly kickstarted my obsession with Greek mythology and history. I still wish I could have majored in Greek and Roman civilization.
2.
An Artist of the Floating World - 'A' Level literature introduced me to Kazuo Ishiguro and I just fell in love with how he told his stories. Sometimes, it's about taking the long way around.
3.
Ariel - Another result of 'A' Level literature, this taught me that there were no rules when it came to creativity.
4.
Great Expectations - This saw me through years of bullying by my foster mom's kids, even though it was only the abridged children's version I read. Later, the movie with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow captured my imagination even further [even though it wasn't that great, it was about seeing the book I loved come to life and as a child I was easily impressed].
5.
The Bloody Chamber - I was liberated by this book I had to read for a Women's Studies class. This just eff-ing blew my mind. The moment I spotted Danielle in PoH reading the same book, I knew she was cool, and that we would hit it off. We did (:
6.
The Prince - Have you ever read a book and simply agreed with everything that was said? This was the book for me.
7.
Romeo and Juliet - A decade after reading it, I can still quote from it verbatim. This taught me the difference between loving the idea of being in love, and actually being in love.
This is tough...I'm less than halfway through and I don't even know if I can find that many books.
8.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - It's just a book everyone has to read.
9.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back - This is how my 'black fever' started. For a 12 year old, the tone was so liberating, the colloquial way it was written was refreshing, and it made me wish I could have cornrows in my hair.
10. Sweet Valley - That damn series that Lareina introduced to me when I was 8 led me to this downward spiral when it came to romance books later. It's all your fault, Larie!
11.
It Had to be You - This introduced me to the wonderful world of Susan Elizabeth Phillips, for which I am grateful because it led me to the bestest
da jie ever in Aud. SEP and Rachel Gibson are the only romance authors that I actually like enough to want to get their books, and track when their next releases are.
I'm struggling not to turn behind now, because if I take a look at the bookshelf, then the books I pick later are not gonna be all that defining, right?
12.
The Faraway Tree series/
The Naughtiest Girl in School - These are the books that I can still pick up and enjoy as an adult. Or maybe I just have very childish tastes. Whatever it is, Enid Blyton was an amzing author.
13.
Matilda - It inspired my love for books and made me want to be just like Matilda. I think that if I'd never read it, my life would be very different. Which is exactly what defining books should be like, right? Duh. But I guess I mean that I doubt I would have read that many books if I had not read Matilda.
I feel like I haven't read anything defining once I became an adult..oh dear. What changed my life? What would reflect the last few years of my life?
Based on the last question...
14.
Kitchen Confidential - Yes, I am really that interested in food. And I believe it was this book that made me realize just how awesome food literature would be.
15.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - I feel like this most accurately reflects my tastes as a reader. I love the classics, romance...and the kooky.
There, finally I finished. Now let me take a look at the shelf to see if I missed anything else. Surprisingly, I actually didn't find anything that made me go...aw damn, should have put that in. So now you know, whoever you are, if you exist to begin with, that these 15 books are truly those that defined my life.
