Those books which have touched me.

My department co-chair gave me a book to read over the summer, since I'm teaching the developmental reading class this year, called I Read It, But I Don't Get It. I flipped through the first few pages and found them so engrossing that I was done with chapter 3 before I left campus.

One of the things Tovani writes in it is an exercise she does with her students where they are reminded of books that have had an impact on their lives. Her goal, without telling the students, is to get them to think about when kids liked books, enjoyed reading, felt reading held some special power or magic.

On the day she did/does this, Tovani brings in a basket of books and shows them to the students. One by one, she brings them out, shows them to the students, maybe reads a snippet, and then explains how they affected her. Sometimes they're books that taught her something, sometimes they're books she hated, sometimes they're books she's never read. She brings out a wide range of books - children's books, series books, adult books, non-fiction books, fiction books - to talk about and encourages students to share their personal experiences about the books she shows. Then, she gives them some time to think and write, requiring them to bring in one book and do the same type of presentation the next day as a means of introduction.

In preparation for a similar activity with my reading students, I went through my bookshelves to pull books that have had an effect on me. As an avid reader and an English teacher, it's not surprising that I pulled out dozens of books. Currently, I'm going through the pile to find a way to pare the pile down, so I'm not a talking head the entire period. I'll post the final list with commentary once I sift through it and maje some hard decisions.

In the meantime, here's my first-draft list, in no particular order, without commentary. What's yours?

• Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery
  
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  
• Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
  
• As You Like It by William Shakespeare
  
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
  
• The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
  
• Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
  
• Paradise Lost by Milton
  
• Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
  
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
  
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
  
• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  
• Go, Dog, Go! by Dr. Seuss
  
• My Poetry Book ed. by Grace Huffard
  
• Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
  
• The Odyssey by Homer
  
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  
• Dozens of Cousins by Mabel Watts
  
• For Little Sleepy Heads ed. by Maryjane Hooper Tonn
  
• Disney's Uncle Remus Stories
  
• The Bumper Book ed. by Piper
  
• The Provensen Book of Fairy Tales
  
• Making Up Your Own Mind by Joy Wilt
  
• The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family by Matt Groening
  
• Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
  
• Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock
  
• Second Thyme Around by Katie Fforde
  
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet
  
• Heidi by Johanna Spyri
  
• books for Babysitter's Club, Nancy Drew, and Sweet Valley High series
  
• Edie Changes Her Mind by Johanna Johnston
  
• The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
  
• The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
  
• On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony