Gretchen’s Comments (group member since Nov 28, 2010)

Gretchen’s comments from the McNeese State University LIBS 210: Technical Services in Libraries group.

It is so difficult to only come up with one book in each of these categories. I've found that my taste in books changes as I age and have more life experiences.
The longest single book I've ever read is probably Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. I read it in high school, and it was dark enough to satisfy the teenage ansgt period I was going through. I remember wrestling with the portrayal of justice in this book. As for a series, I've read the Twilight series the Harry Potter series,the Left Behind Series, and Frank Herbert's Dune series. I'm not sure which was the longest, but I enjoyed all of them. I also began Twilight under duress, as my students begged me to read it so we could talk about it. I did, and was hooked by the end of the second page!
The worst book I've ever read was Stephen King's It. (Actually, I never completed the book.) I HATE scary movies, so why I ever picked up this book is beyond me. I had seen the movie, and it didn't seem so horrific, so I decided to give it a try. I still get scared thinking about reading this book. I have never been so terrified in my life! I decided to stop reading when the nightmares started, and I do not regret that decision.
There is no way that I can list only one book for the best book I've ever read. Let's back up a few years, shall we?
When I was a small child, my absolute favorite book was The Pokey Little Puppy. My mom read this book to me every night, and if she'd try to speed things up by skipping a page or two I'd catch her because I had most of it memorized.
In elementary school, I was a Laura Ingalls Wilder junkie. I loved Little House on the Prairie. In fact, Laura was my imaginary friend, and I used to explain all the modern conveniences in my house to her as I was completing chores like washing dishes or loading the washing machine. I still have the complete set, and I still get lonesome for her and reread it every year or so. Yes, I'm aware this makes me sound like a lunatic, but really, I'm okay with that.
In high school I discovered To Kill a Mockingbird. I adore this book. If Atticus were a real man I'd marry him. His wisdom and bravery and integrity still inspire me. Most of my recent students are not readers. It's so important to me that they absorb the lessons of this novel that I read the entire novel out loud to my classes every year. I have entire passages of this book memorized, and I do the character voices when I read. My students have said when they go back and think about the book, they still hear my voice.
Another one of my absolute favorite books is Night, by Elie Wiesel. I've read this book countless times, and have taught it for years. There is such power in its brevity. I've read many other Holocaust books, but Night remains my favorite.
My favorite fantasy/science fiction book would either by Connie Willis's Doomsday Book, or Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series.
I become emotionally involved in the books that I read, so much so that I often picture myself as the main character and experience life through their eyes. Because of this, I often reread books to reexperience events. I enjoy the feeling of knowing the characters on a personal level, and I love authors with the ability to get me personally involved in their stories.