I was talking to one of my friends today about how literature can impact your life. I remember that when I was a freshman in college, I was convinced that I wanted to be a Shakespearean scholar in the vein of my literary criticism idol, Harold Bloom. I don’t know when that was put on the back burner, and I lost interest in so many things. It was a rough period, and I think that I’m just finally starting to find my way back to rediscovering the intense passion I used to feel for things. I don’t have many (any?) friends who share my love of the written word so I decided to just make a list here and put it out there. Yes, I started this blog because I wanted to indulge my obsession with nail polish, but I quickly realized what a wonderful vehicle this is to get things off my chest and just talk about anything and everything. There is no judgment here…no fear at all. I love that.
The following is a list of the 10 books that I feel have changed me to the core at the time when I read them. Not only are they works of extraordinary beauty, but they have and will stand the test of time.
10. Vladimir Nabokov – Lolita
9. JD Salinger – The Catcher In The Rye
8. Ralph Ellison – Invisible Man
7. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – The Little Prince
6. Leo Tolstoy – The Death Of Ivan Illych
5. F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby
4. Henry James – The Beast In The Jungle
3. Gabriel Garcia Márquez – Love In The Time Of Cholera
2. William Shakespeare – Hamlet
1. Gabriel Garcia Márquez – One Hundred Years Of Solitude
If you are a lit geek like me, do you have your own list?
