1. The Grapes Of Wrath - Mainly because it's just a great story with great characters. But it also re-invigorated my love of reading when we were assigned to read it in high school. I had drifted away from reading middle school and early high school. I can't think of a time since I read it that I wasn't reading at least one book.

2. East Of Eden - Yes, another Steinbeck. My teacher that assigned Grapes Of Wrath was a HUGE Steinbeck fan, and she recommended East Of Eden to me when I told her how much I loved Grapes of Wrath. I read it in 3 days the summer after my junior year of high school, and have read it a few times since.

3. As I Lay Dying - it's hard to pick a favorite Faulkner, but this is the one where his writing clicked with me so I'm going with it. I actually like Absalom! Absalom! better, but this one was more influential.

4. Devil In the Grove - A recent non-fiction about the Groveland Boys - 4 black men accused of raping a white girl and their subsequent trials. Ugly, ugly part of our nation's history.

5. Ghost Soldiers - Another non-fiction about the Bataan Death March, and the rescue mission to free the prisoners of war in the Phillipines during WW2. A family friend was one of the guys written about it in the book, so it resonated a little more with me.

6. Babbitt - I first read this in college and it didn't really resonate with me. Recently re-read it, and it really hit home. If you live in the suburbs and sometimes feel like your keeping up with the Jones's, I can't recommend it enough.

7. I Am Malala - Amazed at the courage some humans are able to find. Malala's story is just incredible.

8. Atlas Shrugged - I actually hated this book, but it was influential. I was dabbling into some libertarian ideas at the time, and this book made me realize what a crock of shite it was. Awful book.

9. The Crossing - I think this was the 4th Cormac McCarthy book I read, and while I liked the others, this one was just beautiful. The imagery, the story, the prose, just loved it. I'm kind of a sucker for coming of age stories though.

10. The Orphan Master's Son - I am fascinated with North Korea, and this book is set there. Great, great book.

EDIT - Holy shite, I can't believe I left off To Kill a Mockingbird. I think it's the greatest American novel ever written, and it should probably be #2 for me.

This post was edited on 7/26/17 at 8:06 am