Day 1 of Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Five Books That Define Me

From the Estrella Society: 

Back in the fall of 2008, a wonderful book blogger named Amy (from My Friend Amy) created an online festival for book bloggers called Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Her intent was simple:  

Acknowledging the hard work of book bloggers and their growing impact on book marketing and their essential contribution to book buzz in general, I am excited to announce the first Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Think of it as a retreat for book bloggers and a chance for us to totally nerd out over books together. And of course, shower each other with love and appreciation.  

The event grew every year and, even though it was fun and Amy loved it, she had to end it in 2012 due to the work and time involved. BBAW has been missed dearly ever since. 

The ladies over at The Estrella Society (Ana, Andi, Heather, and Jenny) have brought back Book Blogger Appreciation Week, an event to bring book bloggers together to celebrate our blogs, the people behind the blogs, and to reconnect with old friends as well as to make new ones.

I will not be participating in every event hosted this week, but I will take part when I am able. I am excited to see BBAW revived. I always had such fun participating in years past. The community has grown so much since I began blogging in 2006. The book blogging community remains one of the main reasons I have kept up with blogging even at my lowest of blogging points. That and my love  to share and talk about books.

Today's BBAW topic is to "introduce yourself by telling us about five books that represent you as a person or your interests/lifestyle." Oh, goodness! How do narrow the list down . . . I read a variety of types of books for many different reasons, and I wanted my list to reflect that, as well as tell a bit about me. When it came down to making the actual list, these five titles kept screaming to be included, and so here they are.

1.

Tarantulas on the Brain by Marilyn Singer ~ While I could list a dozen favorites from my childhood, Tarantulas on the Brain instantly came to mind. While I never took a job working for a magician, I have always been fascinated by spiders, particularly tarantulas and Emily Dickinson remains one of my favorite poets today. The main character, Lizzie, is curious and smart, but not without her flaws. As a mother to a daughter, this book I hope she will pick up and read. Lizzie makes a good role model. (Please do check out excerpt from Chapter One to see what I mean.)

2.

The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald~ My dad was a career United States Marine, and I spent the earlier years of my childhood moving around from base to base. While this particular novel is set in Canada and in a different time period than the one I grew up in, it still resonates with me. As I wrote in my original review: "I just had no idea how much this book would get under my skin, how much of my own life I would see flitting across the pages. Or echoes of it at least."

3.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson ~ I was a reader of Jenny's blog, The Bloggess, before I listened to her first memoir. I laughed and I cried and I could relate in so many different ways to Jenny, including the way her mind jumps from topic to topic, sometimes without a seeming connection--and yet there is in our strange own sense of logic. There's also the mental health piece. I know what it is like to live with Depression. her humor might not suit everyone, but it speaks to me.

4.

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley ~ What I remember most about this novel is the strong female characters, independent minded and powerful as well as the constraints of organized religion. I read this book at an age when I was coming into my own womanhood from childhood and it sang to me. It has stayed with me all these years, and I still look back on it as a cornerstone of my life. I seriously considered leaving it out of this list, however. While for some things I am able to separate the author from the work he or she created, in this particular case it has been difficult. It is unfortunate her actions have tainted her books for me, because this one really means a lot to me. I came very close to choosing something else, like Mercedes Lackey's The Last Herald Mage Trilogy, which means a lot to me as well, in part, because they are a part of my husband's and my story. (See how I slipped it in anyway?)

5.

Behind Closed Doors by Elizabeth Haynes ~ I wanted to include a crime fiction novel because they are among my favorite genres, and this one is among my favorites. This one speaks of two subjects dear to my heart, the issues of child abuse and human trafficking. These aren't other people's problems as many would like to think. They are our problems as a community, as a society, and as a world. And I am glad to see people writing about them, both in fiction and nonfiction.

What these books don't tell you, of course, is that I am a wife and mother, an animal lover, a book lover and reader, that I love music and movies, I enjoy writing and singing, even if off key, that I like ice cream and chocolate a little too much, and I love a rainy day and a starry night, and a host of other things. All of which I could probably find in books to share with you that help define me--but then the list would have been way too long.

Please share with me what books define you. I would like to know!

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 © 2016, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.