The 20 Books that Shaped my Life

Although I have picked up multiple hobbies in my life, like painting and video games, reading has been my favored past-time for most of my downtime. So much so that my family members typically buy me books and book-related accessories for birthdays and holidays.

I vividly remember the first book I read by myself. It was Are You My Mother? By P. D. Eastman. It was the bilingual version, with both English and Spanish text and simple illustrations. I proudly told my parents, and my mom said I had to tell my first-grade teacher. Ms. Fernandez then made me tell the class during our weekly show-and-tell time. I have not stopped reading any book I can get my hands on since the positive reaction I received at five years old.

In this blog, I will be going over each book and book series that I recall having a major impact on every year of my life.

1. Are You My Mother? by: P. D. Eastman | 5 years old

As I previously stated, this was the first book I read by myself. It is about a baby bird that falls from his nest and asks different creatures and objects if they are his mother until he eventually finds her. Having the bilingual version helped me because growing up in a bilingual household, there were some words I knew in Spanish and some I knew in English. Having both versions helped me fill in the gaps in my mind where I needed them. I was incredibly proud of myself, and I haven’t put a book down since. I remember reading plenty of books at that age, but Are You My Mother? always stands out to me.

2. Magic Tree House Series by: Mary Pope Osborne | 6 years old

This was the first book series that I followed religiously. Every time I saw a new book in the Scholastic book fair, I bought it and read it on the car ride home from school. This series followed two siblings that had a magical treehouse that transported them to different time periods. Each book taught the readers a brief overview of the history of that time period. My two favorites were Dinosaurs Before Dark and Night of Ninjas.

3. My Secret Unicorn by: Linda Chapman | 7 years old

While I don’t have much memory of this book series, I remember being enamored with the cover art and trying to recreate them in my sketchbook. The story followed a girl and her pet horse that would turn into a unicorn. I think this book could be attributed to the early start of my love of art, especially book cover art.

4. Goosebumps Series by: R. L. Stine by: R. L. Stine | 8 and 9 years old

This is a book series that I still enjoy as an adult. From the research that I have now done, it is amazing to realize what a revolution R. L. Stine caused in children’s fiction. Children’s horror books were impossible to find, but Stine delivered the perfect balance of fright and enjoyment. It is not a surprise that Goosebumps became a worldwide hit that is loved by many 90s kids. My favorites were The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight and The Curse of Camp Cold Lake.

5. Dear Dumb Diary by: Jim Benton | 10 years old

This was a funny book series where you were reading the main character’s diary. Aside from making the reader laugh, it discusses important topics for young girls about self-esteem and their bodies. I remember buying these books at Borders with my birthday money and staying up all night to read them

6. Edgar & Ellen Series by: Charles Ogden | 11 years old

This was a shorter book series that followed two mischievous twins, Edgar and Ellen. It was eventually made into a TV show, which I have a clearer memory of. I appreciated the creepy and gothic artwork on the covers. Looking back on them as an adult, I can tell the creator was inspired by The Addams Family and the aesthetic of the original TV series.

7. The Hunger Games Trilogy by: Suzanne Collins | 12 years old

Much like every young adult in the 2010s, I read and re-read The Hunger Games Trilogy. I was first introduced to this book because it was part of my summer reading list for school. This series deserves all the praise it receives. I currently have it on my to-be-read list for this year to see what else I can discover coming back to the series over 10 years later.

8. The Glass Castle by: Jeanette Walls | 13 years old

This is a book that will always be my favorite. This is the author’s memoir where she discusses her troubled upbringing with her alcoholic father. Despite her trauma, Walls still the beautiful moments she shared with her father, and you can tell how much love she had for him, despite his faults. Additionally, my 8th grade English teacher lent me her copy, Ms. Kent. I felt so proud that she thought I would be able to read a book with such adult topics. I finished the book in two days and immediately bought my own copy at the thrift store.

9. Gerald’s Game by: Stephen King | 14 years old

This was the first Stephen King book I read. Looking back now, I was definitely too young to be reading a book about bondage gone wrong, but I couldn’t put it down. This was a great introduction to King’s work and since then I have been working my way through his anthology. I fell in love with King’s descriptive language, which managed to produce the perfect amount of eeriness. It was especially impressive because most of the action of this book took place in one location and in one character’s mind.

10. Harry Potter Series by: J. K. Rowling | 15 years old

Like most millennial kids, my childhood was consumed by the Harry Potter series. This is a series that still stands the test of time and I think every teenager should read. It is an engrossing story about magic, but it also provides examples of serious issues that teenagers deal with, like bullying, grief, loss and fear. Even though Rowling has a less than favorable public image at the moment, nobody can deny that she is one of the most influential and successful writers of my generation.

11. Lolita by: Vladimir Nabokov | 16 years old

This is another book that I read far too young. It was the first book I read that had an untrustworthy narrator. It made me uneasy and nauseous at points, but I couldn’t put it down. Nabokov does a wonderful job at creating an engrossing character that you are meant to despise yet empathize for. This was a life-changing book because it helped me break out of reading young adult books and helped me discover classics and modern classics that shaped me as a reader and writer.

12. Frankenstein by: Mary Shelley | 17 years old

I remember being intimidated by Frankenstein for a long time because of the romantic literary style of the period. But as a lover of horror, I knew it was a tale I would enjoy. So I read it in sections with a dictionary and although that was a tedious process, it was absolutely worth it. I have read it multiple times since, and I gain something new each time. It is still some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read, especially the scenes from the monster’s point of view.

13. Sophie’s World by: Jostein Gaarder | 18 years old

This was my first introduction to philosophy in a high school English class that I was reluctant to attend every day. I eventually went on to study philosophy in college because of this book. It was a subject that I wanted to fully engross myself in. I remember taking a trip to Barnes & Noble the summer after graduating from high school and buying multiple introductory philosophy books to self-studying during my summer break.

14. Misery by: Stephen King | 19 years old

This is still my favorite book by Stephen King. I, unfortunately, started reading it during finals week and could not think of anything else until I finished the book. Although many of his books are slow-paced and unnecessarily convoluted, this one was quite the opposite. This is the book I always recommend to people looking to start reading Stephen King. This is a book that I look forward to re-read and annotating this year and seeing what else I gain from it to apply to my current writing endeavors.

15. The Associated Press Stylebook | 20 years old

Although this one is a slight joke, I remember one of my journalism professors made us read the AP Stylebook cover to cover and while it was the most daunting task, I am still so grateful for it. As someone who writes professionally, many of the AP Stylebook guidelines and rules are deeply engrained in my conscious.

16. The Secret History by: Donna Tartt | 21 years old

This book is something I wish I would have written. It follows a group of Ancient Greek students in a private Liberal Arts college. The writing is beautiful and at times pretentious, but in a purposeful way. The reader is meant to hate the group because of the horrible things they have done, but you still feel for them. It is a shame Donna Tartt has only published three books, because I have enjoyed them all multiple times, and I wish she had more to give her fans.

17. Nausea by: Jean-Paul Sartre | 22 years old

I read this book for my Existentialism and Phenomenology class during my senior year of college. It was a perfect book to read when I was starting a new chapter of my life as a college grad. I also think this book is a great introduction to existentialism because the oftentimes confusing topics are enveloped in a fiction story.

18. Pride and Prejudice by: Jane Austen | 23 years old

After graduating from college, I didn’t immediately find a job in my field. So in between my exhausting shifts at Starbucks, I found myself with a lot of time to read. Pride and Prejudice was a classic that I always wanted to read, but whenever I started it in the past, I felt like I didn’t have enough time needed to dedicate to this book. When I finally found the time, I realized what a beautiful work of fiction this book is. I have made it my goal to read all of Austen’s work in the coming years. This is another book that motivated me to read more classics after I learned how impactful and moving they can be.

19. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by: Taylor Jenkins Reid | 24 years old

I am someone who typically does not cry while reading sad books, but this one got me. It is a forbidden sapphic romance. Although Evelyn Hugo is a horribly flawed human, I couldn’t get enough of her. It was also because she reminded me so much of myself during her many stages of life. I typically am not a fan of romance books, but this book changed my mind, as I think I found my niche in the romance genre.

20. The Bell Jar by: Sylvia Plath | 25 years old

Sometimes you find a book where you feel like the author has tapped into your psyche and written it all down, and this is that book for me. It is the perfect book for women in their 20s who are unsure of where their life is going. My only gripe is the random racist statements that add nothing to the story, but that is, unfortunately, a common thing with prose published in the 1960s and prior. It is saddening to read this book which is essentially Plath’s memoir and then learn about her suicide. We were all robbed of a talented and ingenious artist.