Jill(mrstreme)'s List

This is a very interesting challenge: to find books that describe you and your personality. After some reflection, here are the five books I've selected:

1) The March by E.L. Doctorow: Books about Georgia during the Civil War, especially during Yankee occupation, fascinate me. I read Gone With The Wind when I was 13, and since then, I have always been interested in this aspect of the Civil War (to the point that I attended college in Georgia and received an M.A. in history, specializing in Southern History). The March is a newer book that focuses on how Sherman's "March to the Sea" affected the Southern people (both black and white) and the Northern armies. The March is the 2005 winner of the NBCC award, so if you're doing the Book Awards Challenge - you can get two-for-one!

2) On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King: Oh the body parts I would give to have King's gift for storytelling and writing! This book discusses his creative process and gives an interesting back story to many of his novels. He also talks about the near-fatal accident that almost robbed us of one of our best writers. I selected this book because I am a wanna-be writer, and this particular autobiography is inspirational to me.

3) I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak: I love this story because it shows that we are all capable of doing wonderful things. The main character receives cryptic playing cards with clues written on them, and he's charged to do good deeds to designated strangers - the catch is that he doesn't know exactly what he's supposed to do. So he must observe and be creative. And figure it out, or else...

4) Five Quarters of an Orange by Joanne Harris: I picked this book because I thought it was an interesting coming-of-age tale. It's a story of a young girl's life during the German occupation of France. She befriends a German soldier and must sneak around to visit with him. She sneaks oranges into her house to set off her mother's migraines (which then puts poor Mom to bed) to rendezvous with her new friend. It's a wonderful story!

5) Christ The Lord by Anne Rice: This is a fictional account of Christ's childhood, as interpreted by Rice. I like how Rice theorizes Christ's boyish thoughts about the miracles he commits and the mystery of his birth. It's hard to think about Christ as a boy, especially because the man was so great. I want to stress that it's an interpretation, not a historical account. Rice is the essential storyteller, and if you liked her other novels, this one may be worth a consideration.