I turn fifty in a few weeks. There is no doubt that books have played a formative role in the person I have become. Without books, I would know very little about systemic inequity or the ancient world. I would have little sense of numerous parts of the world, such as Iran or North Korea, that I have never visited. I would know a lot less about transgender identity, urban poverty, or the rules of suspense.
In short, books have broadened my horizons and challenged me to see things through different lenses. Perhaps they have helped me empathize. They have certainly helped me write.
Before I experienced any of this, I had to become a reader. Without these books, I might never have progressed to the point of greater curiosity. Here are fifteen books from my formative years that made me enjoy reading.
1.
Something about these books captivated me as a child. Addie lives with her widowed father and grandmother in Nebraska. Her father refuses to have a Christmas tree because it reminds him of his grief. Perhaps the tension between a headstrong daughter and taciturn father was relatable to me. Or maybe it’s just a good story.
2.
I didn’t read too much as a kid. Beverly Cleary was an exception. Something about her books held my attention. They seem very old-fashioned now, but the scrappy girls were relatable.
3.
I loved this story of a trio of animals getting by in a subway station. The ingenuity of making use of discarded objects may have appealed to a child with little control over money. Or maybe the characters foreshadowed my future cat fancy.
4.
Like Beverly Cleary, Carolyn Haywood was an author I read multiple times. Her books seemed to place me back in my mother’s childhood, when girls wore pinafores and patent leather shoes. I read a whole slew of them, including this one about a boy named Penny for his copper-colored curls.
5.
I still remember a lot of the songs from this, including the catchy title ditty. Sadly, this is probably banned in some places now because of its blatant challenge to gender norms.
6.
I loved this movie so much that I read the novelization about a dozen times. (Why are there so many orphans in children’s books? )
7.
Considering I watched both Dallas and General Hospital for several years before this, it is strange to say that I learned what sex was from reading this classic. And, yet, it’s true.
8.
I was not much of a reader during my teen years. There were always books stacked in my bedroom, their covers as familiar as framed photos, but I never read them. All of that changed when I discovered Anne Tyler. I absolutely loved her charming stories about eccentric Baltimoreans. This one enthralled me. (It was also my first experience loving a book but hating the ending. I could never accept Macon and Muriel together. I wanted him to go back to his wife. I was vindicated recently when Anne Tyler gave an interview saying she thought Macon and Sarah belonged together.)
9.
After TAT, I quickly read all the Anne Tyler novels I could find at the library. I loved most of them, including this offbeat story about an awkward girl who becomes obsessed with a Lyle Lovett-like singer. I was slowly realizing that protagonists could be relatable, if I found the right books.
10.
Thanks to Anne Tyler’s creativity, I was soon becoming a more adventurous reader. This story of a May-December romance riveted me with its lyrical writing and New Orleans setting.
11.
Here is a gem I discovered when I lived abroad at seventeen. It’s a hilarious diary written by a naive but bright boy. The British class struggle is brilliantly satirized through this winning protagonist, who means well but rarely comes out on top. (There are several sequels as well.)
12.
I first read this stellar novella in high school and again in college. I later taught it, too. It captures both the brutality of Black urban life and the miraculous ability to transcend it. James Baldwin is one of the best.
13.
Raymond Carver is another master. I’m sorry I haven’t read him more because his idiosyncratic voice is a pleasure. I do remember reading the titular story in this collection and feeling a bit mind-altered by the blind man describing a cathedral.
14.
This is such an obvious choice that I almost left it off. I was one of legions of teenagers who felt seen by this story of Holden and all the phonies.
15.
Here is one book that actually did change my life. Reading this saga of the residents of Barbary Lane made me want to move to San Francisco, where I have now lived for twenty-five years. Armistead Maupin captures the magic of the ’70s counterculture. The books (there are six in the series) are kooky and not realistic, but Maupin’s affection for the city made me a believer.
Books Smitten 