#my3books

the other day i was listening to npr, and they were talking about this concept of naming three books that define you. obvs, the temptation is to pick something profound, puff yourself up, but the truth is that most of the profound tomes i've tackled have left me wondering what all the fuss is about. just because something is difficult to read, doesn't mean it's brilliant. just means it's f'ing hard to read. #coughcoughjamesjoycecoughcough

secret garden and a tree grows in brooklyn and to kill a mockingbird and lord of the flies changed my perspective on life, but i don't think books like that define me. they influenced me, sure, but i figure the books that define me are ones i have read multiple times. they choose me and i choose them, over and over again.

#my3books

andrew henry's meadow by doris burn
andrew henry is a misunderstood middle child. he just wants to build things, but no one appreciates his inventive efforts. he escapes to a nearby meadow where he builds himself a fine house, which even had a landing pad for the dragonflies. not long after, he's followed by several other kids, each with their own hobby that's not appreciated by their family. alice shows up toting cages containing her precious birds, which her father the farmer doesn't want around. george brings boats and a paddle wheel that his mother says don't belong in the bathtub. and so it goes until there are several andrew-henry-crafted houses in the meadow, each as eccentric as its own. in the end, the parents find their kids, everyone dances happily and goes home, where they presumably understand each other a bit better. (andrew henry's parents give him some space in the basement to build his inventions.)

the pillars of the earth by ken follett
i've read this one three times, and now that i've reminded myself of it, i might just have to read it again. it's a historical novel based in medieval england, with a plot centered around the building of a cathedral in kingsbridge. follett uses the fictional setting to stage the introduction of construction and architectural advances that presumably took place in the middle ages. (i mean, i didn't look it all up.) these advances are brought into the cathedral building process by jack jackson, an outsider, a bit of an odd duck, who is driven by the desire to do things right. there's a conniving bishop, an uncaring lord of the manor, adventures abroad, love that's found and lost and found again. time passes, characters age and die, and in the end, the story is resolved. #thesequelsucks

harry potter and the sorcerer's stone
ah, harry. the other two books came to mind quickly, but i pondered and pondered over the third, until it hit me that i've read the entire harry potter series 4 or maybe 5 times. the characters and plot are pretty well known here.

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so. how do these books define me?

like andrew henry and jack jackson and harry potter, i'm driven to do things right, and i'm not easily lonely.

it's fun to think about inventing things, building things, and about construction advances and when they might have come into use.

i believe in the power of love.










what about you? what are your #my3books?