Abandoned by user

One of my friends at work asked me to name my top ten most influential books because of that silly facebook meme that is making the rounds.

This is a nearly impossible task for me, but I agreed that I would try. Then, I started thinking, why limit myself to ten? I'll just create a shelf, and start mentally sorting through my forty-odd years as a reader. Don't expect these posts to be reviews, have star-ratings, or be in any sort of comprehensible order - they will be more like essays related to books that have been important to me for some reason.

This one makes the cut because it was one of the first fantasy books I ever read (if not the first). I remember checking it out of the library, at my mother's urging, and devouring it. It is the best and most beloved of the books of Narnia, and I reread it often. It changed my reading habits - without having read TLTW&TW I might not have read The Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter, both of which will end up on this shelf sooner or later.

My full review from a reread earlier this year is here, for anyone who is interested enough to read.

I'm going on a literary treasure hunt among my past. I don't know how long it will last, or where we will end up, although it is likely that all roads lead to Austen.