10 Books That Stayed With Me

I've read A LOT of books. Here are the ones I'll never forget.

Hi everyone,

Remember how I actually like social media? Here’s one of the reasons why: challenges! This post is inspired by a Facebook challenge a friend sent me years ago. We had to share 10 books that “stuck with us.”

As an English major, bibliophile, book blogger, and writer, I have read a lot of books over the years. After awhile, it becomes hard to remember the details of every book, and even harder to remember how I felt about each book. Getting older doesn’t help with this, either. #Hello40sandPerimenopause

(Book Amnesia— a side story about aging and the ignorance of youth)

When I was a teenager, I’d talk to my mom about whatever classic books I was reading for high school English or my college lit courses. I’d ask her if she read a book, too, and I’d be shocked when she’d answer, “Maybe. I’m not sure.”

My astonishment would be further compounded by her answer to my follow-up question of whether she liked a book: “I’m not sure. I don’t really remember what it’s about.”

Ummm, say what? At 17, 20, and even 25 years old, I remembered every book I read. In unnecessary detail. Whether I liked it or not.

My mother was also an English major, and not an evening or weekend morning passed by that I didn’t see her reading when she had a free moment. My parents’ idea of a good family outing was browsing the local Barnes & Noble or finding an indie bookshop in a cute New England town.

Bottom line: this woman loves books. So, the notion that she couldn’t remember if she read a book, or even liked it was unfathomable to me.

I’d walk away from these conversations with a heavy heart, wondering, fearfully, if I would fall prey to this “book amnesia” when I got to be around her age. Like, maybe it’s just something that happens to women over 40 and she had no say in it? Like taking up birding and clothes shopping at Chico’s.

Fast forward 20-ish years: I’m an enthusiastic birder, and while I haven’t started shopping at Chico’s, my brain is continually overcrowded with, well, everything. I’m lucky if I remember why I walked into a room each morning, let alone what book I read last year. Okay, last week, if I’m being honest. (Thank goodness for Goodreads!).

Sigh. Book amnesia found me, too.

Okay, back to the post

However, there will always be those books you can never forget. They’re the books that blew your socks off or changed your life; or, they’re the childhood stories you read so often that you had them memorized before you could actually read.

They’re the books that made you feel something. This is my top-10 list of those books, in no particular order.

(This post contains affiliate links. Don’t hate me.)

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

One of my favorite books was almost a DNF for me. A friend told me that I had to read We Need To Talk About Kevin, but she warned me that the first 20-something pages were really boring.

Sure enough, I started reading and immediately wanted to stop; it was really rough. When I told my friend that I DNF’d it, she pushed me to keep reading. “It gets better,” she promised, hands clasped together under her chin. “I swear, I swear it gets better. You have to read this book. You don't want to miss this book."

Thank goodness she convinced me to keep reading. We Need To Talk About Kevin is, to this day, the most eye-opening, disturbing, heart-breaking, thought-provoking, and beautifully haunting book I’ve ever read. It’s incredibly dark, and it’s incredibly disturbing. There are a multitude of trigger warnings for this book, but telling you about them would give too much away. Just brace yourself if you decide to read it.

Also? You can only read We Need to Talk About Kevin once. Once you know the ending, it won’t be the same.

Readers, slog through those first 20-something pages. Heck, it might even be closer to 40 pages, now that I think about. It was a long time ago that I read this one. (See “book amnesia” above.) But, I, too, promise you that it’ll be worth it -- and that it’ll take you a few days to feel "normal" again after finishing We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Note: I tried watching the movie adaptation a few years ago, and I hated it. I didn’t make it very far into the film, though I’m really tempted to look up how the ending is portrayed on film. Also, another part of me is like, “You don’t need that visual in your life.”

Stick to the book, folks. And don’t look up the book’s/movie’s ending!!! It will ruin everything.

Paradise Lost by John Milton

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."

I've always had a penchant for the anti-hero in stories, but reading John Milton's portrayal of Satan in Paradise Lost turned my literary world upside-down. I first read snippets from the epic poem in high school, and swooned. I’m not gonna lie, I fell a little in love with that version of Satan — and Milton — right then and there.

My Milton obsession was thus born. I wrote a free verse poem inspired by the painting Blind Milton Dictating Paradise Lost to his Daughters, and I indulged in an entire semester course on John Milton in college.

Years later, I visited Milton’s Cottage in Chalfont St Giles, England, where I blatantly ignored the “no photography” sign and snapped a secret photo of his study when the tour guide’s back was turned. So I could always remember what it felt like to stand there, where Milton stood, sat, wrote, and thought.

In 2017/2018, I finally buckled down and wrote my first novel, and the themes explored and vibes felt in Paradise Lost deeply influenced the direction of my story.

Milton’s epic poem remains close to my heart as a gorgeous, impressive, and inspirational piece that’s a classic for a reason.

Jemima J by Jane Green

Jemima J is about an overweight twenty-something woman who wants to change her life, and she believes that the key to leading a successful social, professional, and romantic life is being beautifully, gorgeously, and obsessively thin. So, Jemima sets out to lose a ton of weight. Which she does (not really a spoiler). But, of course, her new body doesn’t make her life as perfect as she thought it would.

I read Jemima J while on the last leg of my post-college European tour. I picked it up in an English bookstore in Amsterdam, and the story called to me since I’d spent a lot of my trip feeling like “the fat friend.” (At least, in comparison with my two traveling buddies, who had enviably petite, waifish figures that my ample butt and boobs would never — will never — allow.)

I was at my heaviest weight right after graduating college. Even though Jemima J isn’t a diet or health book (it’s women’s fiction), it helped me lose 40 pounds over the following year. It helped me gain confidence, happiness, and a healthy lifestyle. It made me realize what being thinner and healthier could do for my life, and also what it couldn’t.

I’ve re-read Jemima J countless times since 2001. Sometimes it’s when I’m craving an enjoyable and familiar read, but it’s often when I’ve felt frustrated about my weight or feel the need to get back on track with eating right.

It can be hard to find people who understand — really understand — what's it like to be overweight, and to be desperately unhappy about it; to love food and have it feel like your enemy; and to understand the sheer strength and willpower it takes to make an immense change in your life and stick to it.

Not many people I know in real life can relate to all this. But, Jemima always will.

The Fear Street series by R.L. Stine

Whenever I think of “YA” books, my mind still hearkens back to anything published in the mid-1990s by R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Caroline B. Cooney, and Barbara Steiner. These were the writers churning out snappy, bingeable novels for teens full of suspense, supernatural chills and thrills, a surprising amount of horror and gore, and just a little bit of kissing. Most of these books came to me courtesy of Scholastic Book Club, and I gobbled them up as quickly as my mother bought them for me.

But, the Fear Street series by R.L. Stine was always my favorite, always my go-to for a soul-satisfying read.

I was a completely morbid child, obsessed with ghosts, vampires, horror stories, and death. (Yes, my mother did notice and was constantly concerned about said obsession.) I knew about “ghost hunting” before it was a TV spectacle across various channels, and visiting 50 Berkeley Square, London (IYKYK) was on my bucket list by the time I was six years old. (Check!, by the way. See photo below).

It feels like there are so many supernatural and paranormal-themed shows and books out there these days. Which is awesome.

But, back in the 90s? Your girl was hard-pressed to find kindred spirits (get it???).

R. L. Stine was one of the few authors I could trust to feed my urge for all things creepy and disturbing. I read, re-read, and re-re-read most of the books in the Fear Street series, as well the many similar books Stine wrote that weren’t in that series. I was also into his Goosebumps series for awhile, which is for kids. But, even as a 9-year-old, they weren’t scary enough for me. Back to Fear Street I quickly went.

While R.L. Stine may have only driven me further into the dark, he made me one incredibly happy and “seen” kid.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

No one who knows me is surprised to find Pride and Prejudice on this list.

My mother started me on the 1980s BBC miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice when I was about 10 years old. This version was, obviously, made way before the culturally beloved 1995 Colin Firth adaptation, which I don’t think holds a candle to what Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul brought to Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy in the 80s. And, don’t even get me started on the 2005 Kiera Knightly version. Puh-lease.

I didn’t actually read Pride and Prejudice until I was 14. Of course, when I did, I immediately loved it. It’s still the only book that I can quote extensively (and accurately) from off the bat. I love P&P so much that my fiancé recited from it during his marriage proposal to me, and we had a P&P-themed table at our wedding.

I also happen to love anything Jane Austen-inspired and adjacent, like these Books for Jane Austen Lovers. Pride and Prejudice remains one of my favorite stories, rom-coms, meet-cutes, all the things to this day, and reading it and/or watching it always brings me comfort when I need it the most.

Hobkin by Peni R. Griffin

If Hobkin came out today, I think it would be classified as a young adult/magical realism book. Maaaaybe a middle grade book? I can’t really tell since I don’t read a lot in those genres.

Hobkin’s about two Texan sisters, sixteen-year-old Kay and eight-year-old Liza, who run away from an abusive stepfather and try to start a new life on their own. Hobkin is the invisible and helpful house-elf that resides in the abandoned shack Kay and Liza choose to make their new home. The novel is full of adventure, a little suspense, heartwarming “found family” themes, and fairy tales and folklore.

My mom actually discovered Hobkin, back in the day; she thought I might like to read it because Liza was eight years old, just like I was at the time. I devoured the book while sitting in the backseat of my parents' car as they drove around Vermont one summer. Hobkin was my refuge that vacation, and I checked it out of the library many more times after that as my late childhood and young adult life became increasingly difficult.

Hobkin's filled with magic and mystery and hope, and though I was too young to pick up on its adult themes until much later, it made me long to run away and start over somewhere new, just like Kay and Liza did. (What stopped me is knowing that I couldn’t bring my cat and that, realistically, there would be no Hobkin waiting for me.) There are still some days when I want to jump back into the world of Hobkin for a few hours.

Mr. Maybe by Jane Green

Jane Green was my favorite author to read when I was in my twenties, so of course another one of her titles made this list. I first read Mr Maybe in college, and I immediately felt that main character Libby, with her fabulous independence, glamorous publicity career, fun social circle, and complicated love life, was a kindred spirit. Filled with warmth, humor, hope, and plenty of romance woes, Mr Maybe remained my constant comfort blanket throughout my dating (mis)adventures.

Jane Green somehow seemed to capture (again!) how I thought and felt about so many things in my mid-twenties, and much of Libby’s tale was like a guide on how to handle the ups and downs of early adulthood. I think there's a little bit of Libby in most women, and she’ll always be one of my favorite rom-com heroines.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”

“Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!"

"He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

I first read Wuthering Heights in high school, and my dramatic, romanticized teenage self was there for ALL of it. I don't think there’s a more unhealthy romantic relationship in all of literature than that of Catherine and Heathcliff.

There’s also not one more perfectly, achingly beautiful. I will always be rooting for those two.

Also? Bronte’s writing is fucking amazing. Those quotes above are #writinggoals.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

Hi, we’re back again with the creepy stuff. R.L. Stine may have kept me going during the teen years, but good ol' Alvin and his wonderfully morbid collection of scary stories started it all.

Talk about formative reading: some of my wildest, most irrational fears stem from things I read in those books. SO. FREAKING. GOOD. I read book #1, #2, and #3 over and over and over again in my youth.

I am still scared by some of these stories. And don’t even get me started on the illustrations. #NightmaresForever. Yet, that creepy-ass book cover called me to it like a Siren the first time I clapped eyes on it. I knew I had to read whatever was inside, and I knew that I would love it. Thankfully, the books did not disappoint.

Note: I read Don’t Turn Out the Lights, which is a Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark tribute anthology written by contemporary horror authors. The short stories were okay, but nothing beats the original(s). Accept no substitutes.

Springfellow's Parade and The Silver Dandelion, both by Robert Kraus

These two books are grouped together because, in my mind, they’re always grouped together. I actually didn't know they were by the same author until a few years ago.

Springfellow's Parade and The Silver Dandelion are the first two books I remember reading with my mother as a child. We would check them out from the public library over and over again, and I never tired of hearing about the parade of animals led by a pony, or about the search for the silver dandelion (one that's gone to seed).

I had to be about three or four when I first "read" these books, and they remained favorites for another few years, even after I started reading chapter books on my own. Springfellow's Parade and The Silver Dandelion remind me of the happy summers of my early childhood before, well, so much in my life changed and things weren’t as happy.

I keep an eye out for these titles — with these covers — at used book shops, but apparently they’re highly collectable and hard to find. Let me know if you see them!

Share your list

What’s your list of 10 books that have stayed with you over the years? Don't over think this, people. The books don't need to be great works of literature; they just need to be meaningful to you. I hope you’ll share with us!