I’m inspired by Alaska Young, the enigmatic young woman featured in John Green’s Looking for Alaska.
Our main character, Pudge, asks a simple question: “Have you really read all those books in your room?”
And this is Alaska’s response:
She laughed. “Oh God no. I’ve maybe read a third of ’em. But I’m going to read them all. I call it my Life’s Library. Every summer since I was little, I’ve gone to garage sales and bought all the books that looked interesting. So I always have something to read. But there is so much to do: cigarettes to smoke, sex to have, swings to swing on. I’ll have more time for reading when I’m old and boring.
Alaska–I don’t smoke, but I do enjoy swinging on swings.
I, too, have plenty of books on my shelves, some of which I’ve gathered over the years. In fact, these books date back to elementary and middle school. I have updated my collection of words, though, but there’s so much that I could–and want–to read.
So, without further ado, I give you a mass running list of all the books I want to someday read in my personal Life’s Library.
I’ll add to this as I go.
1. Peter Pan
2. The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings trilogy
3. Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series (I need to finish this! I’ve only read the first book?!)
4. The Wheel of Time series
5. All of John Green’s books
6. The Bartimaeus Trilogy
7. Les Miserables
8. The Count of Monte Cristo
9. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
10. Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy (Need to finish this trilogy, too)
11. Mat Hart’s poetry
12. Mary Oliver’s poetry
13. The Lunar Chronicles
14. Pride & Prejudice
15. Jane Eyre
16. Tamara Piece’s Circle of Magic series (though I’ve read most of it)
17. Davies Clement-Davies (The Sight was incredible; I have his sequel & the one about deer)
18. Ellen Hopkins (she writes all of her books in poetry & they are amazing & wonderful)
19. Justin Cronin’s The Passage
20. James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series (yes, I read some Patterson. I love this teen series the most. The adult version of these books were okay.)
On the Prairie 