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Top Ten Books I Was "Forced" to Read

Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Books I Was "Forced" to Read

1. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I must confess, it wasn't my idea to read these books; it was my dad's. He went on so much about how they were his favorite books as a kid and made such a point of telling me that he had his own copies available for me that I finally went ahead and read them. And now, his copies sit coolly on my shelves. For safekeeping.

2. The Source by James Michener

My grandfather took me to a bookstore once and told me I could have any book I wanted. Then he proceeded to steer me toward this one. He told me all about how much he had enjoyed it, and was so full of enthusiasm that I couldn't resist "choosing" it. I'm very glad I did, it remains one of the most interesting books I've ever read and I'm so glad I had the chance to talk with my grandfather about it.

3. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

My good friend got quite enthusiastic about this book and kept telling me to read it. Finally, she bought it for me for my birthday and I took the hint! Another one that I'm glad I read.

4. The Trixie Belden books

These books had belonged to my grandmother, and my mother hoped that I would enjoy them, as she did as a child. How could I refuse?

5. Dune by Frank Herbert

My friend at camp was reading this book and when she had finished, I was finished with all the books I could stuff into a sleeping bag (and still carry it), so we traded. I really have to thank her for starting me on this incredible journey, all thanks to the limited reading resources at our sleepaway camp!

6. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

I heard that Moby-Dick was the most boring book in the English language. That's a lie, from my perspective anyway. I was "forced" to read it for a twelfth grade English class, but I really ended up appreciating it and still think about it often.

7. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

So I was pretty terrified of Joyce, but I had to read this for class, and, thanks to my professor, I got through it all right!

8. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality by Sigmund Freud

I wasn't too fond of what I'd heard about Freud's work, it took a graduate level colloquium to get me to read him, and I'm glad I did. Whatever else, he is a remarkable thinker and writer.

Annnnd...that's all I can think of. The ones that went well, anyway.

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