The five-ish books below define the person that I am today. Deciding which to choose was an uphill battle but I couldn’t imagine who I’d be without them.
There’s a book challenge going around various social media sites right now that requires you to list the 10 books that have affected you the most. Here at Hypable, we’re kicking off our own version of the challenge. While we may be doing only five books, we’re also going to tell you why they affected us — and maybe we can convince you to read them, too.
During the process in choosing these books I realized I kept trying to choose my favorite ones, which ended up becoming an entirely different task in its own. Upon that realization, the assignment became a bit easier. Although I did cheat a bit, these books are who I am and I associate them with certain times in my life – mostly grade school. They either started my reading addiction, began my journey in fandom or aided in my music addiction.
‘A Wrinkle in Time’ by Madeleine L’Engle
My third grade year was a big one for me. I read more chapter books than anyone in my class and I won the local town writing competition and was featured in the newspaper. I read so many books this year, mostly Goosebumps and Animorphs books. This was the year I discovered my love for reading (and writing) and I owe it to Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.
I don’t remember exactly how I started reading A Wrinkle in Time, it was most likely on Reading Rainbow or I picked it up in the school library. I do remember this being the first book I read that had a female protagonist in a science fiction book. Time travel, Mrs. Who’s glasses with special powers, traveling to different planets, good versus evil, light versus dark – it was everything I dreamed about. This book made reading “my thing” and anyone who knows me knows I owe that to A Wrinkle in Time.
‘The House on Mango Street’ by Sandra Cisneros
I have to quote the movie Selena before I begin to tell you why this book means so much to me:
“We gotta be twice as perfect as anybody else. And we gotta prove to the Mexicans how Mexican we are, and we gotta prove to the Americans how American we are. We gotta be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time. It’s exhausting! Nobody knows how hard it is to be a Mexican-American.”
Now, I read this book way before I watched that movie, but reading The House on Mango Street gave me the same feeling. I loved every minute of my childhood but it was very different. Visiting my mother’s Mexican family compared to my father’s American family was like night and day. The main character in The House on Mango Street is Esperanza, a very observant young girl. I saw so much of myself in her. She picks up on things that many younger kids wouldn’t notice. Especially the different ways people are treated based on gender. I have family in the Chicago area and have been there many times as a child, it made the story feel more direct and personal.
‘Jurassic Park’ by Michael Crichton
Science fiction was already something I was a fan of before my seventh grade year in Mr. Brown’s science class. Mind you, science was never one of my better subjects – until this particular year. He taught our class to play chess and we read Jurassic Park as a class. I’ve never analyzed a book and enjoyed doing so as much as Jurassic Park. In a science class, who would’ve thought?
Michael Crichton’s brilliant way of showing us the horrors of the park as well as its many wonders was what drew me in as a reader. The novel was much darker than the film portrayed. I remember my Mom had to sign a waiver to allow me to read it as a class, it wasn’t a big deal though, I’d already read Stephen King. Jurassic Park partly defines who I am today because of its imagination and the way I now analyze books and life in general.
‘Twilight’ by Stephenie Meyer and ‘Cool for Cats’ by Jessica Adams
Okay, so I cheated. Let me explain. I chose these two books for the exact same reason but in different ways. I love music. I know, who doesn’t? But I am a music junkie. All types of music. From Led Zeppelin, to Wisin y Yandel, to Taylor Swift, to Jay-Z. My favorite thing to do in the world is attend live concerts. Seeing a band perform their souls out on stage is mesmerizing.
Back to the point. Jessica Adams’ Cool for Cats is about liberty, fashion and great music. The music aspect of this book is what hooked me. It takes place in 1979 – some of the best years music-wise in history. I read this book and truly imagined being Linda Tyler and pictured myself in the same room as The Clash. Oh to dream.
This is where Twilight comes in. I worked part-time at the local Barnes and Noble when Twilight first hit bookshelves – yes, way before the craziness started. I took the book home, loved it and then went on author Stephenie Meyer’s website. It wasn’t a very detailed website (it had nothing on JKR’s – more on that later), but what struck me was that she had playlists for every chapter of the book! And it was mostly alternative-type music.
From Muse, to Blue October to (my ALL-TIME favorite) Linkin Park. I ended up rereading Twilght with her playlist and absolutely fell in love with the book in a completely different way! I met great friends through her site and convincing others to read it while listening to her playlists. Music is what feelings sound like, and if you can enjoy that and reading at the same time then you’ve found eternal bliss.
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
I had to save the best for last. I would absolutely not be where I am today without this series. I couldn’t choose just one book because, again, this isn’t a list of my favorite books. The series as a whole defines who I am.
Magic. That is what it’s all about. All around us, in the way we breathe, sing, speak, dance. JKR’s words have stuck with me for so long. These books came to me in a time of my life that I needed them the most. My family moved cities and sometimes states every year. I attended more than a handful of schools and because of that it was hard for me to stay connected to my friends (this is pre-social media, kids!).
My younger brother passed away from cancer when I was in sixth grade and Harry Potter came into my life shortly after. Harry, Hermione and Ron stayed with me from that point on. No matter where we moved I still had them. I had Hogwarts and the entire wizarding world.
Trolling JKR’s website was one of my favorite pastimes. Solving her riddles and putting clues together. I then discovered Mugglenet and eventually landed here at Hypable. The people I’ve met, things I’ve learned and life-long friends I’ve made would not have happened had that boy wizard not walked into my life. I’m forever grateful.
Hypable Staff Challenge:
Find out what books define the other members of the Hypable staff who have taken this challenge!
–Selina Wilken
–Kristina Lintz
–Ariana Quiñónez
–Karen Rought
–Jen Lamoureux
–Marama Whyte
–Kristen Kranz
–Pamela Gocobachi
–Brittany Lovely
–Natalie Fisher
–Mitchel Clow
–Caitlin Kelly
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