Kailana over at The Written World is collecting bloggers lists of books that they can’t live without . (I found it through Bookgirl’s Nightstand; she’s got a great list). It sounded like fun, so I’m throwing out my ten.

In no particular order:

1. My Jane Austen fix: Pride and Prejudice (or Persuasion). Can’t live without it. In fact, I need to read it again soon. It’s been too long.

2. I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith: This one has shown up on a couple people’s lists. So totally charming, so totally engaging. So totally wonderful.

3. The Orange Girl, Jostein Gaardner: It’s a wonderful little book. A letter from a (dead) father to his son (who’s 11 when he reads it), it’s the story of how he and his wife met. Just about perfect.

4. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok: Out of all the Potok books I’ve read (which is most of them, at one point or another), this one touched me the most. I liked the sequel, too, but not as much.

5. Beauty, Robin McKinley: Ah, to only put one Robin McKinley book down. That is a shame. But, this one is here not because it’s my favorite, but because it was the first one I ever read by her. And I really like it.

6. A Little Princess (or Secret Garden), Frances Hodgson Burnett: I love her stories, I love her story telling.

7. Maps in the Mirror, Orson Scott Card: I’d put one of his novels down, but I find too much at fault with them. With Maps in the Mirror, you get the best of Scott Card without all the excess: it’s a collection of short stories.

8. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams: Babel fish, Marvin the robot, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and don’t forget your towel.

9. The Giver, Lois Lowry: Again, I love much of what I’ve read by her. This one is not only representative of everything, but is really the best. Well, maybe Number the Stars comes close, too.

10. The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness, Joel ben Izzy: Ah, a nonfiction book. I think I meant to keep this all fiction, but in thinking about my list, I couldn’t not leave some non-fiction off. This one is slight, but powerful. It’s his journey in learning how to be happy where he is in life, and to stop wishing for something other than what he had. Powerful.