The books we read. The books we remember. They are rather telling aren't they? I've included short stories and speeches as well.
Second Grade: The Aeneid, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Even then, I loved stories. I remember these ones specifically only because I was taken to the principal's office for quoting from them one day. I also attempted to read Ulysses but gave up out of boredom. I also read as many of Aesop's fables as I could get my hands on. I read the newspaper and everything I could find about history. I decided that, based on my circumstances I would have to be in charge of my own liberal arts education.
Middle School: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. (I loved how Lewis would talk to his readers in asides like this.) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I became a huge fan of Twain after learning he said something along the lines of "Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense." I wondered if this was why I loved to read. The Importance of Being Earnest. Absurd and romantic with delightful wordplay. Still one of my favorites. Nickel and Dimed. Inherited from, of all people, my capitalist class foreign exchange sister. She had volunteered to work namelessly on the lines during the summers in her family's factories that she would understand their lives. Possibly the finest lady I have ever known. Even now. It and thus began my fixation with horror and my adoration for Stephen King, who often included letters to his constant readers. I Have a Dream. The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself. The Republic.
Ninth Grade: How to Reassess Your Chess. The Complete Book of Chess Strategy. I wish I had known about Polgar's 5334 Problems book. I can't find it now but I got some abysmal book about the Sicilian Dragon, the variation with the lowest win/draw rate in professional and which Fisher famously claimed he had refuting down to a science with "pry open the h file, sac sac mate!" and decided that would be my poison of choice. Fisher was right. Dawn by Wiesel. The Perils of Indifference. Still my favorite speech. The Stand. By Stephen King. I think it's better than his Dark Tower series. I was very lucky to have found E.B. White's The Elements of Style.
Tenth Grade: The Prince. The Art of War. Starship Troopers. A Farewell to Arms. Henry V. I became interested in war again. I thought it would be the best way to understand the human condition. Also I was considering joining the armed forces. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by Locke. Hills Like White Elephants. Just an amazingly beautiful short story. Seabiscuit. This was also when I re-read Austen and started having an idea of how great was her technical virtuosity.
Eleventh Grade: Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy. Le Petit Prince. Still one of the better ones I've read. The Things They Carried. Absurd, raw, terrifying, visceral, an attempt at redemption.
Twelfth Grade: Chess fellowship secured I thought it was time to learn about the history of the game and its players. My Great Predecessors. Searching for Bobby Fisher. Time Enough for Love. My Life by Clinton.
Freshman Year: How to Win Friends and Influence People. I started practicing several hours every day and I became a networking machine. I also started reading random dating books and articles after I was identified as a dating expert in much the same way that Brian became a prophet in "Life of Brian".
Sophomore Year: The Boat by Nam Le. Long For This World. A Gesture of Life. This Is A Bust. Waylaid. Sonya and Ed signed my copies after our Asian American Literary Review symposium. I uninvited myself from the dinner after. I wish I hadn't. In doing so I made myself feel more alone. The New York Trilogy. Collected Works of Lucian. The Bluest Eye.
Junior Year: I don't remember anything about this academic year, especially not what I read though I took something like 2 full semesters of literature classes and aced all of them and that I amassed the majority of my speaking fees. And I don't have my notes or books anymore.
Senior Year: Waiting for Godot. My first encounter with Beckett. Absolutely brilliant. An Artist of the Floating World. Never Let Me Go. Crucial Conversations.
These days I read a lot of non-fiction. I'm working on the Pelopennesian War at last. Real World Haskell. SICP. How To Mock a Mockingbird. Algorithms by Sedgewick.
Also a lot of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I've re-read Good Omens twice now. Discworld is great fun.
And, I'm working on the Pelopennesian War at last.
