The Giver - One of the first chapter books I ever read and it was such an eyeopener. I didn't know it at the time, but it would be the first of many many dystopian novels. It was the first book to really knock me over and make me fall in love with reading.

The Hobbit - One of the very first fantasy books I ever read. I still remember the feeling of awe that I felt. How I very much felt like Bilbo Baggins setting off on an adventure. I adored that book so god damn much. I didn't know that there could exist such magical worlds in books, it was unlike anything I had read previously. The Hobbit led me to The Lord of the Rings. Which led me to a fan forum in 2001, the very first forum I ever joined. Which led me to go hunting for other forums that might interest me. Which led me to EoFF. Which led me to my husband. So yeah, pretty life changing!

The Sirens of Titan - Books had always entertained me and some helped shape my thinking but nothing really influenced my philosophy on life like Kurt Vonnegut. He changed the way I saw the world. And Sirens of Titan is my fav book from him.

Little Women, The Baby Sitter's Club & Little House on the Prairie series - I seriously think these books ensured that I grew up knowing right from wrong. The Baby Sitters Club books in particular were all about morality tales. And I read like... 200 of those books. So all those issues of right and wrong and selfishness and kindness and being a good friend and daughter and sister, those dug deep into me and took root. Also, being a child of immigrant parents, I needed some way of understanding what it meant to be a "normal" American. It helped me transition from a home life that was rather unAmerican into school and social settings where I was honestly baffled at first. Also, these books literally taught me English.