Most Influential Books

Jillian at Random Ramblings posted about ten most influential books in her life and she encouraged others to do the same with one rule... you can’t explain your choices. I tend to over explain my choices for lists, so this was an intriguing idea. Then Brona listed her books and Adam listed his and I knew I had to join in the fun.


Jillian said "I love a lot of books. However, I've learned that the favorites list and the most influential list are two completely different things." As I started making my own list I realized the same thing. The most influential book I read by one author might not even be my favorite by them.
 

So here’s my list…
1) Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
 

2) Hamlet by William Shakespeare
 

3) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
 

4) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
 

5) Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
 

6) The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
 

7) Matilda by Roald Dahl  
 

8) Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
 

9) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
 

10) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott  

Photo by moi.

Matilda

Matilda

by Roald Dahl

★★★★★

Matilda is a precocious 5-year-old with a brilliant mind. Her parents are the worst sort of people and think reading is horrible. Luckily she has a kind teacher, Miss Honey, who sees the potential in her work. The school Matilda attends is run by the terrifying headmistress Miss Trunchbull, one of the all-time best villains in children’s literature.  

I read this book so many times when I was little and I loved returning to it. I was an avid reader at a young age and I identified with Matilda. Obviously I wasn’t as advanced as her and my parents actually supported reading, but I still loved her story. I love almost everything Roald Dahl wrote, but this remains my favorite. Sure, the story is a bit far-fetched when it comes to Matilda’s intelligence and child custody laws, but who cares? It’s a children’s story and I love it.

BOTTOM LINE: An absolute childhood favorite that I adore. Perfect for that little reader in your life.

There’s a list of books that Matilda reads when she’s a little girl and I’ve always wanted to read everything on it. Here it is with the books I’ve read in bold.

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Gone to Earth by Mary Webb

Kim by Rudyard Kipling

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Good Companions by J.B. Priestly

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Top Ten Favorite Characters in Children’s Books

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for my Top Ten Favorite Characters in any Genre. I am going to go with Children’s books because it’s a genre I rarely talk about here.

1) Tock the “watchdog” in The Phantom Tollbooth – He’s such a loyal companion for Milo.

2) Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia – He’s always there for the other characters and he’s willing to lay down his own life to save them.

3) Charlotte in Charlotte’s Web – Wise and kind, she’s the best sort of friend.

4) Matilda (Roald Dahl) – All she wants to do is read. I loved her as a kid.

5) Califer in Howl’s Moving Castle – This cranky fire demon was one of my favorite parts of the book.

6) Jack Pumpkinhead in the Wizard of Oz series – He’s such a strange character, but a fun one.

7) Turtle in The Westing Game – I read this for the first time when I was about Turtle’s age and I just loved her character.  

8) Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle in the series named after her – She teaches kids great lessons, but she never makes them feel bad about themselves.

9) Meg in A Wrinkle in Time – She thinks that she isn’t as good as those around her and it takes her awhile to realize what a powerful force love is.

10) Charlotte in The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – She’s a prim and proper young lady until she takes a trans-Atlantic ship to move to America. Then she becomes a sailor and must fight to survive. It was one of my favorite adventure stories when I was young.

Bonus: Most of the cast, especially Dumbledore, from the Harry Potter series. I don't consider that a Children's series, which is why I left it off.

Image from here.