On 'One book that...'

I got this from the Burnside Writer's Collective blog and decided to put it on my own. Feel free to leave your own list in the comments or on your own blog.

One book that changed my life: The Christian answer would be the Bible...but we're excluding Christianese answers from this. So I'd say Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Why, you ask? Because it inspires me to do what I want to do more than anything--write great children's literature.

One book that I've read more than once: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier It's haunting and wonderful and intriguing and has the greatest first sentence and the perfect last sentence.

One book that I'd want a desert island: Les Miserables. It's like four books in one! I'd need a highlighter, though, so I could highlight all the great lines.

One book that made me laugh: Dogs Don't Tell Jokes by Louis Sachar (He's my second favorite children's author, second only to Roald Dahl).

One book that made me cry: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I won't say why in case you haven't read the books (go read them NOW). But I cried like a baby for the last three chapters. But I must also mention that I cried when I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's an amazing book and I only wish I were half the writer that Foer is.

One book that scared the he** out of me: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Word of caution--don't read this late at night, especially if you live alone or in the middle of nowhere. And especially since you can't tell yourself 'it's just a book.' But it's a great character study.

One book I wish had been written: Jane Austen's memoirs

One book I wish had never been written: Any Jane Austen 'sequels.' Can't people come up with their own characters?

Two books I'm currently reading: The Shack by William P Young for book club and Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell.

One book you've been meaning to read: There's a lot of them...but just one would be anything other than the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. I'm not so good at reading non-fiction.

Your turn. Any good books you'd recommend? Make your own list!