Books (again)

This morning, Eric and the kids and I pulled weeds with our friends from church, Kim and Ken and their sweet boys. Ken mentioned my book list from the previous post, and I realized I hadn't been clear in posting it! The list in my last post isn't my top 10 list at all. It's just some random fella's who published his before I did, and I realized I had read a lot of the same books. I've been trying to pull together my own top 10 favorites, and here's what I've come up with: (This is always a work in progress, depending on what's going on in my life, whether I have an affinity for fiction or non, or just however the wind blows. Except number one. That one sticks.)


Amy's Favorite Books

1. Holy Bible--not to sound cliche', but it's the only book with the power to transform. The rest are just informational reading.

2. Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers

3. A Separate Peace, John Knowles

4. The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963, Christopher Paul Curtis (This is juvenile fiction, and my favorite read-aloud book ever. My job is teaching kids who struggle how to read. I don't think they will ever read well until they learn to love and appreciate its value. After I read this one, I could get them to read the dictionary if I asked. It's historical fiction, the characters are fabulous, and its themes are the perfect mix of humor and gravity. Love this one.)

5. Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

6. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (If you haven't read it, it's not the Frankenstein from the horror cartoons. Wonderful book)

7. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

8. The Atonement Child, Francine Rivers

9. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Jim Cymbala (I've bought this one, read it, then given it away probably 7 times.)

10. An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser (required in high school, loved it for years)


***Honorable Mention***
These books are juvenile fiction, also, and I use them for teaching--but it's hard to leave them out of my list of faves
Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
The Giver, Louis Lowry
Freak the Mighty, Rodman Philbrick