I read a challenge on Facebook last week: “List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don’t take more than a few minutes and don’t think too hard. It is not about the right book or great work of literature — just ones that have affected you in some way. The list does not need to be in order…”

I could not possibly list ten books that have stayed with me. Maybe 25 or 50, those are more realistic numbers (for my lifetime). Not more than a few minutes to think? I’m a stubborn Taurus perfectionist, and I analyze everything, so I definitely need more than a few minutes, and I will spend time thinking about it before I let others see my list on Facebook (or anywhere else). To meet this challenge, I did think about what would sound good to readers of a teacher’s blog. Then I thought, “Oh, brother…just make the list already!” My list is unusual compared to the others I’ve read in the past week. Maybe some other people think like me, and don’t want to embarrass themselves in a public forum; maybe they read more mature and publicly acceptable books than I do. Anyway…challenge accepted! Here’s my list of books that have stayed with me over the years:

1. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin, Jr.

2. Nancy Drew Mysteries (series), by Carolyn Keene

3. How to Eat Fried Worms, by Thomas Rockwell

4. Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown

5. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote

6. A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute

7. Daybreak, by Belva Plain

8. When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do, by Kylene Beers

9. Zoom, by Istvan Banyai

10. Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris

I have another whole list of notes, categorized by childhood, teen, and adult reads, and broken down into genres. Like I said, I could not possibly list just ten.