Open Call: 10 Most Influential Books.
I apologise for not sticking to "Influential" but Cataloging and Classification, rev. ed. is probably not going to make a thrilling post. Nor will Pre-Calculus Made Simple enough for English Majors so you can get that BA from the famous university and go on to a life of earning 1/10 of what your roommates earn.I'm a librarian.
What you think I read I have a license to read. I don't know about the rest of you all. But I won't turn you in. Even if you owe library fines in ten states. Yeah, you!
So, with thousands of books surrounding me all day at work, what would I bother to re-read. I'm sure that in one way or another, these books have influenced me---but then again, I'm a wee bit eccentric.
1. Bleak House. I have another post about how Bleak House has the worst title of Dickens, but the most action (spontaneous combustion, starving lawyers, poor orphans, a lawsuit, crazy people, mean lawyer, detective, sick children, pissed off neighbors, rich nobleman, beautiful wife, lost love, bastards, family secrets, fortunes, cemeteries, charities). See "What the Dickens" post for more.
What I really read2. Jane Eyre. Haven't read it for a while. One of the great feminist statement novels of all time--and really hot. They kiss for the first time and a bolt of lightning strikes the tree they are standing under!
3. Rumpole of the Bailey omnibuses. John Mortimer is a genius at wrapping courtroom hijinks around a social issue and furthering his satire on London characters.
4. Crooked Hinge and Bride of Newgate by John Dickson Carr. Two of the best mysteries of all time. One has sinister stuff and the other is a rousing historical mystery/adventure. See "Why Read John Dickson Carr" for more.
5. P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves anything. Really anything by him. See Pelham Grenville in the Springtime post for further information.
6. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. This novel is probably the greatest "hack" novel of all time. DuMaurier was a master of suspense and this is her masterpiece. The Hitchcock movie is also pretty darn good.
Typical Reference Question? 7. Groucho and Me. One American so far--but Groucho Marx's first autobiography is hilarious.
8. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King. Sherlock Holmes has become the most malleable character in English literature. This feminist romantic take on Conan Doyle's woman-hater is suprisingly effective.
9. The Elements of Style by E. B. White. I probably do need to read it again.
10. The Years with Ross by James Thurber. Ross, the founding editor of The New Yorker magazine, was amazingly fortunate to find great talent and funding to hire them for his magazine. This loving portrait of how the man worked contains some of the ideal anecdotes of the first half of the 20th century.
I'm all set for that desert isleDone.
You can all print this out and run to the library. You know, that brick building with the book-drop box in front. If you're lucky, there's a coffee shop and used book store inside or you could buy some little "library" bags or jewelry.
My patrons inspired a book 
Nothing like my library. Thanks to the mysterious site: cache.coverbrowser.com for the lovely illustrations!
Comments
Anyone who likes Bleake House is a friend of mine.
Monsieur--Thank you for the comment--your list is fantastic.
Aunt Mabel--Everyone should read Modern Finance in a Canadian Setting--the characters, the drama, the historical backgrounds alone make it a masterpiece. You survivor of education, you!
LC-- Thank you. Laurie R. King. If anyone else had written about marrying Sherlock Holmes, they would NEVER have convinced me that it was possible.
greenheron: I think I have the new job of Children's Librarian of OS. Red-stocking grandma may have hired me last week. I'm trying to help out at the big desk today!
Thanks!!!!!
Rumpole of the Bailey I love!! :D how funny you have that up there. I used to deliver pizzas in college (one of my better jobs) and listened to Rumpole on tape in my car. My dad got my mom a "She who must be obeyed" sweatshirt. I don't remember her ever wearing it though :D
Remember--the funny stuff is for print reading!!! We learn these things in library school.