This is kind of a cop-out this month (hey, it’s my birthday month; I’m allowed). I was tagged by Mother Reader and The Book Nest to come up with a list of books that have changed my life in some way. It took me a while to get started on this list, and to narrow it down, but once I got going, they came pretty easily.

So, in roughly chronological order:

1.The Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder — the first book I remember really loving.

2. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle — gave hope to a geeky, awkward girl

3. The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley — it was a toss-up between this and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Both helped me embrace feminism (or realize that I was already one).

4. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen — despised as a 14-year-old, I “got it” when I was 23, finally recognizing the genius of Austen. The A&E production helped.

5. Nine Parts of Desire, by Geraldine Brooks — my first introduction to the Muslim world. It touched and intrigued me and helped me find the similarities between Islam and my own religion, helping me realize that these people are human, too, way before 9/11 happened.

6. Beauty, by Robin McKinley — the first YA book I read as an adult. And it changed not only my reading, but (because of that) the whole direction of my life.

7. The Sorcerer’s Stone, by J. K. Rowling — this is here because if I hadn’t read it, then Russell and Megan wouldn’t have read it, and then we wouldn’t have become a family of Potterheads.

8. The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan — I’m using this book, but it was really an article (that became a chapter) that changed the way I thought about food. And inspired me to make homemade bread every week.

9. Austenland, by Shannon Hale — my first ARC as a blogger. (And a good book, as well.)

10. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher – the first time I was moved enough by a book to write the author. A powerful story.

What would be on your list?